Renaud Lavillenie and Sergey Bubka Launch New Indoor Pole Vault Meeting

Pole vault greats Renaud Lavillenie and Sergey Bubka have today launched a new international pole vault meeting to be held in Renaud’s home town of Clermont Ferrand, France.

The announcement was made in Beijing ahead of the IAAF Congress which is followed by the 15th IAAF World Athletics Championships which commence on August 22.

The international All Star Perche meeting, which is scheduled for February 21, 2016, will feature the best 24 pole vaulters in the world (12 men and 12 women) invited by Renaud to compete at the 5,000-capacity ‘Maison des Sports’ indoor arena.

The elite contest will be the culmination of the four day event which will include pole vault discovery training for students, clinics for partners and guests, as well as a coaches’ seminar, pole vault legends competitions, and national Perche Elite Tour meeting.

Renaud Lavillenie, who broke Sergey Bubka’s world record by clearing 6.16m at the renowned ‘Pole Vault Stars’ competition in Donetsk, Ukraine, in February 2014, said the meeting organized by Bubka inspired him to arrange the similar contest in his home town.

He said: "The ‘Pole Vault Stars’ event has been known as an unofficial pole vault world championship for 25 years. Mr Bubka and his team have managed to create a unique record-breaking atmosphere at the event with 12 new world records set there. My ambition is to take up the torch from the ‘Pole Vault Stars’ and organize another fantastic pole vault show as a true celebration of athletics."

Renaud also announced his full support of Bubka’s IAAF President’s candidacy and his vision of the future of athletics.

He added: "Sergey’s Program is the result of deep knowledge of the sport and what the Athletics Family needs. He always respects and protects athletes and the integrity of sport, and he is creative in terms of bringing athletics closer to spectators and to young people all over the world. Organizing show competitions and street athletics meets is a part of his vision, and I am happy he will become a President of our event’s LOC."

Sergey Bubka praised the efforts of Renaud Lavillenie’s team for arranging the new meet and said show events will become part of his ‘Vision 2025’ if he is elected as the IAAF President.

He commented: "Renaud is not only a fantastic athlete and a true champion, but he is also a great personality who uses his star status to promote sport. I will do my best to help him to organize ‘All Star Perche’, and I hope this meet will become part of the future indoor and outdoor series of show competitions featuring elite athletes. I have pledged to bring athletics closer to our spectators’ everyday life in streets and squares, as well as at well-equipped indoor arenas. New competition formats and the participation of star athletes like Renaud will help athletics to engage with young people and promote sport and a healthy lifestyle."

Andrey Shevchenko, legendary Ukrainian footballer, and Vitaliy Klychko, one of the most famous boxers in the world, were also present at the announcement and voiced their support for Sergey Bubka’s candidacy.

Andrey Shevchenko said: "I know Sergey, I know his continuous movement forward, his desire to do as much as possible for sports and for athletics, to introduce useful and innovative projects, to use his experience, knowledge and ideas for the benefit of the sport. That’s why I’m confident that Sergey Bubka is the man to take athletics to the new heights!"

Vitali Klitchko added: "Sergey Bubka is an icon for the sport of athletics, and for the whole sports movement. He has an incredibly powerful positive impact on the world of athletics and he is using this power to change it for the better. For me, Sergey Bubka is already a President, he is MY President!"

Sergey Bubka is a candidate for the Presidency of the IAAF, and the election will be held in August 2015 during the IAAF Congress in Beijing, China.

His Program, ‘Taking Athletics To New Heights’ is available in six languages (ENG, FRA, SPA, ARA, CHI, RUS) and can be downloaded from here. A video presentation of the Program can be viewed here on YouTube.

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