6.16

Six sixteen. Six metres and sixteen centimetres. That was Renaud Lavillenie's stunning pole vault world record in Donetsk today that sent the athletics fraternity into delirium. Sergey Bubka's indoor and outdoor world records (6.15 and 6.14 respectively) have stood for 20 years, and in recent years only a handful of men have been over 6m, and Lavillenie himself had only previously vaulted 6.08.

Today the teeny Frenchman - at 5'9" and 11 stone he's small compared to his competitors - leapt over 6.16 as easily as if he was languidly hopping over a garden gate. Renaud is an athletics superstar, wears his heart on his sleeve, and is always entertaining. I've seen him compete live on many occasions and it's never dull.

Today's blip is my teeny tiny tribute to the occasion.