Doha, Qatar: Pole vault world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie withdrew from the season-opening Diamond League meet in Doha on Tuesday after injuring his shoulder while running in a 4x100-metre race for his club in France.
Lavillenie hurt his shoulder when he fell at the finish line running the anchor leg at the national club championships in Lyon on Sunday, Diamond League organisers said in a statement.
Lavillenie’s manager, Rene Auguin, said the Olympic champion was out for ten days and couldn’t compete in Doha on Friday. There was no serious damage to the shoulder, Auguin said, but the injury comes at the start of an important season for the Frenchman, who is aiming to win his first title at the world championships in Beijing in August.
“Thankfully he had not suffered any severe injury,” Auguin said in the statement.
Lavillenie was the IAAF athlete of the year and the Diamond League’s top pole-vaulter for the fifth straight season in 2014.
He said last month that he wanted to break the Doha meet record of 5.82 metres to kick-start his season. A gold medal at the world championships is the only major title missing from his collection.
“I was feeling fit and ready for the first real challenge of the season,” Lavillenie said.
Lavillenie is also scheduled to compete at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on May 30.
