French records the talk in the pole vault and 110m hurdles

Reigning European U23 champion Marie-Julie Bonnin set three lifetime bests in her last competition in Sotteville last week, raising her lifetime best from 4.55m to 4.70m in the space of an hour.

But not wanting to rest on her laurels, Bonnin is already turning her focus to the French record of 4.75m which was set by her good friend Ninon Guillon-Romarin in this very arena in 2018.

“It’s truly one of my objectives. I’m happy that one of the bars tomorrow is at 4.76m. I know it can be much better. And a new pole is coming tomorrow,” said Bonnin, who is coming into tomorrow’s competition with a newfound confidence.

“I’ve been in Diamond Leagues before but I’ve never felt like I was in the right place, I never felt legitimate. Now I feel it and now I feel like I can jump with these girls.”

Tomorrow’s line-up features the joint world champions Katie Moon from the United States and Australia’s Nina Kennedy, the latter the winner when the women’s pole vault was last held in Monaco in 2022.

After a “stressful” US Olympic Trials in Eugene where Moon overcame a nagging Achilles tendon injury to qualify for Paris 2024 by virtue of a runner-up finish, the American is looking to convert a recent block of good training into some good vaults in Monaco tomorrow.

“A few weeks ago I felt we turned a corner with the Achilles and I’m starting to get some good training in again. I’m building up that fitness again that is required.

“I’m very excited to leave the stress of the trials behind and hopefully come up and jump high tomorrow,” said Moon, who has cleared 4.85m this season.

On sharing the gold medal with Moon at the World Athletics Championships last year, Kennedy said: “It felt right and I did it. I don’t want to say I would do the jump-off but there is that fire in me and I want that outright gold medal. I’m sure Katie does as well. I think I would do the jump-off, roll the dice and see what happens.”

World 110m hurdles champion Grant Holloway talked about his journey to the Olympic Games but also paid tribute to his friend and occasional training partner Sasha Zhoya who arrives fresh from his first ever Diamond League victory in Paris on Sunday.

“Sasha’s working hard. He got his first Diamond League win at 22, I got mine at 24,” said Holloway, who will be racing tomorrow for the first time since winning the US Olympic Trials in 12.86, the fourth fastest time in history.

“I just want to use this meeting as a building block. We all have that one goal which is the Olympic Games but all roads lead to Monaco first,” said Holloway.

And having ticked off a career first with victory in the Paris Diamond League last weekend, Zhoya has expressed some big goals for the near future: breaking the French 110m hurdles record of 12.95 which belongs to Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and beating Holloway for the first time.

“There’s always respect between us. He’s a good friend,” said Zhoya. “But I want to beat him as soon as possible!”