French pole vaulter rips Brazilian fans after silver-medal finish
RIO DE JANEIRO — Drawing ire and praise, Brazilian fans took center stage at the Olympics Monday night.
Brazilian pole vaulter Thiago Silva credited the boisterous crowd at Olympic Stadium for helping propel him to an Olympic record of 6.03 meters (19 feet 8 inches) and to the gold medal.
But French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, who had to settle for the silver medal, chastised the fans for booing him during his last jump.
“It’s the first time that everybody is against me,’’ said Lavillenie, who won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics and is the world record holder. “Is not against only me, is against all of the pole vaulters except the Brazilian guy. There is no respect. There is no fair play. It’s the Olympics. So if we have no respect in the Olympics, where can we get respect?
“I’m very, very sad and very disappointed.”
Though the stadium was half empty, the crowd came to life as the Brazilian and French vaulters dueled and Silva claimed only the second gold medal won by a Brazilian during these Olympics. But after the riveting contest, Lavillenie said there were no track-and-field fans in the stadium.
“It was just Brazilian fans and it’s very unbelievable to be in the Olympics and everybody’s against you because you’re not from Brazil,’’ he said. “I understand that everybody is for Brazil, which is normal ... but to show no respect to the other athletes is a shame and I’m very disappointed about that.’’
Silva said he tried to quiet the crowd when Lavillenie was preparing to jump but said he was not angry about how the fans behaved.
“The public, the people’s helping me a lot, supporting me and push me forward,’’ he said. “This was important for me at this time and in my home to get some medal. I don’t know which color before, but now I know the gold medal. …
“I understand the people from Brazil. They want the guy from Brazil to win. This, for them, they cannot control their emotions, you know?’’
Brazilians fans also have booed American boxers and American sprinter Justin Gatlin and they have jeered U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo and the U.S. women’s beach volleyball teams. They also booed Russian swimmers earlier in the Games, and that prompted Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada to address fan behavior.
"Booing is kind of part of the football culture, which is that everything is very unilateral, my team or the team against me,’’ he said. “Again, it's part of the education that we need to have to help Brazilians to understand. …
"But we'd rather have some passion than none and I think it's a process of learning, it's a learning curve, and they will be getting better and better as the days move on."
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