ZURICH - Brazilian upstart Thiago Braz Da Silva has already rained on Renaud Lavillenie's parade once this season, stealing the Frenchman's thunder to take a shock gold at his home Olympics in Rio.
Renaud Lavillenie (L) was reduced to tears at Rio's Olympic Stadium as the raucous, partisan crowd got behind local hero Thiago Braz Da Silva (R) and jeered the Frenchman when he collected his silver medal on the podium
While Lavillenie already has a record seventh consecutive Diamond Race title in the bag, Braz is ready to push for a symbolic season-ending pole vault victory over France's 2012 Olympic champion at Thursday's Diamond League meet.
Lavillenie was reduced to tears at Rio's Olympic Stadium as the raucous, partisan crowd got behind local hero Braz and jeered the Frenchman both during competition and when he collected his silver medal on the podium.
He was later consoled, among others, by IOC president Thomas Bach and IAAF chief Sebastian Coe.
"He remains an opponent," Braz said of Lavillenie Wednesday, with the two vaulters enjoying somewhat frosty relations.
"Whether he wins or not, that doesn't change anything for me. I have to do my job. Now I wish we have good relations.
"I tried to calm down the public when the jeering started, but they carried on," Braz said of the hostility shown Lavillenie, adding: "As a professional athlete, Renaud should have prepared for everything. Personally I couldn't change anything."
Braz, whose winning 6.03-metre vault in Rio was his personal best, added: "I don't go out wanting to beat Renaud or the French vaulters, but simply to go as high as possible."
In potential bad news for Lavillenie and his French cohorts, however, Braz signalled his intention to up his level of competition next season, when the world athletics championships will be held in London in August.
"In 2017, I want to vault more often after a season focused on the Olympics," said the Brazilian, who has had just eight competitions this year.
"Next year I'll be more present in European meets, a dozen or so of them to give a continuity to my results."
Braz said he had been slightly overwhelmed by the reactions in Brazil to his gold medal-winning performance.
"In Brazil, there's no real culture of athletics, of pole vaulting. But kids have come up to me in the street to ask me how to do pole vault," he said. "It's odd to have this sudden celebrity. I saw famous sportspeople on the television before and now it's me.
"These (Olympic) moments were incredible, even if I'd lost. I didn't know how to react, I had to remind myself that I could do a lap of honour!
"They didn't really think I could medal even if I was one of the four or five pole vaulters who possibly could. Now they discovered another story. They believe too much in me and I have to keep my feet on the ground and work even harder."
Lavillenie admitted that competition was increasing year-in, year-out.
"It gets harder and harder to win the Diamond League, but I hope to win it next year too," said the Frenchman.
"Year after year, it's getting more difficult, the guys are getting stronger. I just have to push myself harder."