Written by Trackandmemes, May 3, 2022
My name is Pierre Straet and I am 19 years old. I have been doing athletics for 11 years now, and pole vaulting for 7 years at the club of Herve, Belgium. As I study mathematics in Louvain-la-Neuve, I also train with the CSDyle of LLN since the beginning of the school year 2021.
How long has this performance been on the radar?
I have had this goal since August 2021. At that time, I was still 30 centimeters short.
Was it easy to reach?
Honestly, I expected it to come later in the season. We ended the winter with one last competition where I jumped five meters. I only had eight centimeters left, but I still had three months to do it. To have come out of the performance now, it's something incredible. We can now focus on another objective than reaching the minimum.
How do you see this first world championship with your coach?
For the moment I don't realize it yet, I think. With my coach, we find it incredible to say that from now on, we will train to do a better performance in Cali. A better performance than 5 meters 10. We don't just wait for them anymore, but we aim higher.
What would be the craziest, but most likely thing that could happen during your worlds?
Aiming for a podium is impossible, unless you have a lot of chances. Otherwise, the minimums are set so that you automatically go to the final, it seems to me. Reaching it could become a goal, but a personal best is always something crazy, especially at these heights.
Duplantis, an inspiration for you or do you represent yourself little?
It would be nice to be able to jump as well as he does, but he's not an athlete I follow closely.
And in future years, what if you were the next inspiration?
I don't really aspire to be a world star, I just want to jump higher and higher.
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