Day 14 : Lavillenie on top of the world

By Matthieu Boisseau
11/08/2012

Day 14 : Lavillenie on top of the world

At last ! Renaud Lavillenie won his first Olympic title in a not-to-be-forgotten competition. France is now seventh in the medal table, with 30 medals including 9 gold.

Best of the day : Renaud Lavillenie

What a show! Two-time European champion Renaud Lavillenie justified his pre-competition favourite tag as he won his first Olympic title in London. But it came only after a prodigious struggle with Bjorn Otto, one of two Germans who competed with the Frenchman. Although he was under pressure, Lavillenie cleared 5.97m. That was only four centimeters less than his 2009 personal best of 6.01 and the 34-year-old Otto, producing one of the best performances of his career, settled for silver with 5.91.

Flop of the day : the BMX riders

Latvia’s Maris Strombergs and Colombia’sMariana Pajon stormed to the men’s and women’s BMX golds as France’s medal favourites failed to shine at the Velo Park on Friday. French gold medal hopes Joris Daudet and silver medallist in Beijing Laetitia Le Corguiller  did not make it past the semifinals and finished in fourth place.

Number of the day : 2.

The French handball team will play its second Olympic final in a row as Les Experts defeated their best enemy Croatia (25-21). France’s goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer gave a tremendous performance with 18 saves in the first half. The Frenchmen will try to retain their title on Sunday against Sweden, who were defeated by Les Bleus in the first round (29-26).

Today's highlights :

Athletics. Yohann Diniz, 50 km race. Olympic stadium. Basketball. French women team.