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Reuters

Brazilian Thiago Da Silva won the Olympic Games pole vault gold medal in dramatic fashion on Monday to give the host country their first athletics gold medal of the Games.
World record holder Renaud Lavillenie of France took the silver medal.
WATCH: golden moments on Day 10 at the Rio Olympics

After three early failures, Da Silva passed on an attempt at 5.98 metres and pushed Lavillenie to 6.03, which the Frenchman failed twice before the Brazilian set an Olympic record by clearing that height.
The Brazilian crowd had been quiet early in the night, which began with a rain delay, but quickly got behind their 22-year-old countryman, cheering him wildly and booing Lavillenie as he prepared for his final jump.

Lavillenie gave a thumbs-down signal, an apparent request for quiet, but the crowd ignored him, exploding in cheers when Lavillenie missed his final jump.
Outside the quarter full stadium, shouts echoed through the darkened streets of Rio’s Jardim Botanico neighbourhood.

#BRA Thiago Braz da Silva steals the show in #Athletics, sets Olympic record in Men's Pole Vault final! #RioRecords pic.twitter.com/OSQLvdXu5Z
— Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 16, 2016

It was Da Silva’s highest jump ever by 10cm, earning the host country’s second gold of South America’s first Olympics.
Da Silva took up the sport at the age of 14, making him a newcomer compared with Lavillenie.
The Frenchman made his first attempts at vaulting at the age of four, using a curtain rod, imitating his father, an amateur vaulter who built a set-up in the backyard for his son to practise.
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Reaching new heights: Brazilian Thiago Da Silva soars to dramatic Olympic Games pole vault gold

Thiago Braz da Silva of Brazil celebrates after winning the men's pole vault final. Photo: EPA

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epa05454278 Alex Morgan (C) of USA is celebrated by teammates for her 2-0 goal during the women's first round group G match between USA and New Zealand of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Soccer tournament at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 16 August 2016. EPA/DANIEL OLIVEIRA

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Hong Kong's Cheung Ka Long (R) competes against Brazil's Guilherme Toldo during their men’s individual foil qualifying bout as part of the fencing event of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, on August 7, 2016, at the Carioca Arena 3, in Rio de Janeiro. / AFP PHOTO / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

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The 22-year-old cleared an Olympic record 6.03 metres to hand the host nation a first athletics gold medal in Rio de Janeiro


Reaching new heights: Brazilian Thiago Da Silva soars to dramatic Olympic Games pole vault gold

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The 22-year-old cleared an Olympic record 6.03 metres to hand the host nation a first athletics gold medal in Rio de Janeiro

WATCH: golden moments on Day 10 at the Rio Olympics

The 22-year-old cleared an Olympic record 6.03 metres to hand the host nation a first athletics gold medal in Rio de Janeiro