Thiago Braz da Silva brought the Brazilian crowd to its feet on Monday night, winning the home country’s first gold with an Olympic record pole vault of 6.03 meters (19’9.25). He beat defending Olympic Champion Renaud Lavillenie of France, who finished second with a vault of 5.98 meters.
Rio 2016: Brazilian Thiago Braz da Silva wins gold medal in men’s pole vault
The home country picked up their first gold medal in track and field thanks to an Olympic record vault from da Silva.
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American Sam Kendricks won the bronze medal with a leap of 5.85 meters. He won the U.S. Olympic Trials in July but didn’t quite have the hops in him in Rio.
It was a thrilling event as da Silva leapt to an Olympic record despite never having won a medal in a senior global competition. He won a world junior championship but had struggled in senior competitions -- he was 19th at the world championships in 2015.
Lavillenie won the 2012 Games with a vault of 5.97 meters but was unable to match da Silva in Rio. The competition came down to Lavillenie making one final attempt at 6.08 meters, but he was unable to clear the height.
It was an upset win for the home country, and the crowd showed its appreciation, bringing the loudest roar of the night on an evening when David Rudisha raced to gold in the 800 meters and Shaunae Miller upset Allyson Felix in the 400 with a dive across the finish line.
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