Four years after winning his first Olympic gold medal in the pole vault, France’s Renaud Lavillenie was closing in on a second consecutive gold medal after clearing 5.98 meters (19-7 ½) on his fourth attempt of the night without a miss.
But on his second attempt to clear 6.03 meters (19 feet, 9 ¼ inches) Brazil’s Thiago Braz da Silva did just that, and after Lavillenie missed at 6.08 meters Brazil had its second gold medalist of the Rio Olympics. Thiago Braz’s gold medal-winning attempt established a new Olympic record, surpassing the mark set by Lavillenie in London.