Pole vaulters fly high at Brandenburg Gate

French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie produced a best jump of 5.76metres on Friday at the "Berlin Flies" competition at the Brandenburg Gate, put together to mark the 50th anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall.

"It wasn't a perfect performance," said Lavillenie. "It was more for the prestige of being able to say we jumped at the Brandenburg Gate, a very symbolic area."

The competition which featured Germany and three of the four powers that governed Berlin after the Second World War - Britain did not take part - prompted Lavillenie to suggest it might be tried elsewhere.

"It is a good idea although maybe after a big event," he said.

"It might be fun if we could organise this kind of thing at all the famous landmarks in the world." French trainer Renaud Longuevre was equally enthused by the event and nominated his own capital Paris as a suitable venue.

"We could even do the same thing at the Arc de Trimphe or at the Eiffel Tower," he said. "I spoke on the phone to (French athletics technical director) Ghani Yalouz and he found it a very interesting formula."

On Friday, Lavillenie, the reigning European champion failed at 5.95m and was unable to improve on his world-leading 5.90m, recorded at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco last month.But his jump was still better that the American Brad Walker (5.66m), the German Malte Mohr and Russian Anton Ivakin.

BERLIN, Sunday (AFP)