London, March 9 (IANS): French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie’s mark of 6.16 metres has been ratified by IAAF as the new indoor and outdoor world record, the world athletics governing body confirmed on its website Sunday.
The 27-year-old Frenchman, gold-medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, leaped over 6.16m at his first attempt in the annual Pole Vault Stars meeting, an indoor tournament in Ukraine’s Donetsk on February 15 this year, improving the 21-year-old indoor world record of 6.15m set by Ukrainian pole vaulting legend Sergei Bubka in 1993, reports Xinhua.
The former men’s outdoor world record was also set by Bubka in 1994 when he cleared 6.14m.
Since 1998, IAAF Rules state that world records can be set in a facility “with or without a roof” but the rule did not apply retrospectively, which means Lavillenie’s historic 6.16m clearance in the indoor stadium has been also ratified as the new outdoor world record.
However, despite being the defending champion, Lavillenie was not able to compete in the on-going IAAF World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland after suffering a foot injury.
