French pole vaulter booed again after comparing Brazilian fans to Nazi Germany
For the second time in two days, French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie was booed by the home fans in Rio. As he accepted his silver medal on Tuesday night, Lavillenie was brought to tears on the podium.
Lavillenie was booed during the final on Monday night when he attempted to surpass the mark set by Brazilian Thiago Braz da Silva. Lavillenie failed to clear the bar and da Silva was awarded the gold.
After the event, Lavillenie compared the boos to Jesse Owens’s treatment at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. He later apologized for the comparison.
The Brazilian fans booed Lavillenie once again during Tuesday night’s medal ceremony, which IOC president Thomas Bach called “shocking” and “unacceptable.”
Lavillenie was consoled after the ceremony Da Silva and IOC official Sergey Bubka.
Lavillenie won gold at the 2012 Olympics in London. In 2014, he broke Bubka’s 20-year-old world record with a vault of 6.16 meters.
