“Whether I am going to perform well or not, it’s going to be a great learning experience,” Art said on Wednesday’s chat with the media.“It’s a monstrously strong line-up. For me it’s a great honour to compete against the world’s best with a wildcard.”
Last weekend Art competed at the AG Urban Memorial Van Damme in Antwerp, featuring a spectacular pole vault stand installed on top of the Bonaparte dock. Art cleared 5m53 but narrowly missed 5m73, which would have been a new Belgian record. Is he saving best for last at the Memorial? “I am going to try, but I feel pretty tired after a long and hard season. I’m aching everywhere. But the home crowd will definitely give me a boost.”
“It’s my first Memorial as an athlete, but I used to come and watch often. I remember very well how I supported Denis Goossens and Kevin Rans back in the day,” said the man from Liege, who is set to compete against stars like Renaud Lavillenie and Armand Duplantis.
"Lavillenie, Duplantis and Sam Kendricks are the favourites for me,”added Art, who is predicting a winning jump of over 5m90. Art is expecting a lot from the pole vault’s new Swedish superstar, Armand Duplantis. The 18-year-old phenom took a European gold medal with a jump of 6m05. "Pole vaulting is like breathing for him. It seems so effortless. I am sure that one day he will break the world record of Lavillenie (6m16) Who knows he’ll do it on Friday!"
