Brazil’s Thiago Braz da Silva produced the performance of his life to stun defending champion Renaud Lavillenie and win gold in the men’s pole vault at Rio 2016 – sending the Olympic Stadium into a frenzy.
The unfancied 22-year-old fed off the boisterous support, adding 11 centimetres to his lifetime best as he set a new Olympic Record of 6.03 metres.
Lavillenie played his part in an enthralling competition, but was unable to clear 6.08m and force Da Silva to jump again as he finished with silver.
Sam Kendricks took bronze for the United States with 5.85m.
The start of the competition was delayed by a monster downpour that turned the runway into a gigantic puddle, with China’s Xue Changrui getting an unexpected wash from the landing bed when it resumed.
It came down to a head-to-head between Lavillenie and former world junior champion Da Silva, who was pushed into uncharted territory.
Lavillenie cleared 5.98m at the first attempt, prompting Da Silva – guaranteed of at least a silver – to save his three attempts for a shot at 6.03m.
Incredibly, Da Silva then went clear with his second attempt, with Lavillenie having no choice but to raise the bar again and have one attempt at the new height of 6.08m.
The Frenchman failed; the stadium erupted; Brazil had its first athletics gold medal in Rio.
eurosport.com
