POLE VAULT

Renaud Lavillenie: clearly the best but not unbeatable
WORLD record-holder Renaud Lavillenie attempts to retain his title and looks to be the favourite in this unpredictable event, though it could be a close thing.
The Frenchman cleared a 5.97m Olympic record to win gold four years ago but has failed to win on a global level since. He has claimed world silver and bronze plus a European gold, but he no-heighted at the Europeans last month after battling with the weather conditions.
Conditions should be much more favourable in Brazil, where 2012 world junior champion Thiago Braz will be competing in front of a home crowd.