The Frenchman, who is the current world record holder, was in tears as he was awarded the silver medal amid boos and whistles from Brazilian fans.



On Monday night, Lavillenie was beaten by Brazil's Thiago Braz da Silva, who won the host nation's third gold medal for this year's games in the process. The vocal home crowd booed Lavillenie throughout his attempts. In reaction, Lavillenie compared the crowd's treatment of him to how the Nazi Germany crowd acted during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin towards American track and field athlete Jesse Owens.

“In 1936 the crowd was against Jesse Owens,” he said. "We’ve not see this since. We have to deal with it.”

