A few hours later France’s Olympic and European pole vault champion was due to receive the Athlete of the Year award, primarily for his achievement in February of that year when, at the Druzhba Arena in Donetsk, he had cleared 6.16 metres to break the world record of 6.15m set almost 21 years earlier at the same venue by Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka.

Other honours and achievements lay ahead of Lavillenie, including an Olympic silver medal in 2016. But at that moment, with the Mediterranean prinking and twinkling behind him during his whimsical 007-style photoshoot - instead of a Walther PPK pistol there was a banana; the cocktail glass was filled not with Martini but orange juice - this was an athlete at the zenith of his career.

Lavillenie’s expression as he realised the enormity of his achievement in Donetsk, both hands placed to his head, is one of the sport’s enduring images. His words, in the aftermath of his clearance, mirrored that graphic shock.

"It is completely unbelievable," he said. "I will need time to get back down on earth. It was a mythical record. I did not know what was happening to me. The sound was crazy. These are huge emotions. I am in a new dimension."

As he reflected upon this momentous feat nine months later, it seemed as if Lavillenie was still in the process of getting back down to earth. "It has been a perfect year," said Athlete 007 - shaken and still stirred.

My most recent meeting with Lavillenie took place on an occasion when he was playing a supporting rather than a central role - the unveiling of the logo for the 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris Grand Rex cinema in October 2019. Or should that be 1PC (Pre-COVID)? It seems an age ago right now…

In the maelstrom of noise, wine and animated bodies in the main body of the auditorium after the grand reveal I asked Lavillenie for his verdict on the new emblem.

"The fact is it didn’t take too much time for me to see what was going on with the logo," he replied. "I mean, first thing you see is the head of the woman, and then you see the flame."

I pointed out to him that the first thing I had seen was the flame…it was like the old conundrum picture - do you see two opposed faces, or the candlestick shape between?

"Yes," Lavillenie acknowledged with a grin. "It depends if you are looking the black or the white.

"But the great thing right now is we have a very nice logo, and I think everybody is proud to be able to show this logo. We have five years from now to the Olympics, and of course we have a lot of work to do, but this is a very good step to show to the world that now we are really focused on the organisation of the Paris 2024 Games."

Lavillenie had recently turned 33, and I asked him if he still saw himself competing, rather than assisting, at Paris 2024. The answer was affirmative and doggedly determined. I thought to myself - "maybe".

Within three months of our chat, shortly before the shadow of COVID-19 stilled so much of the world’s human interaction, Lavillenie’s position as world record holder was usurped by 20-year-old Mondo Duplantis.

But even during lockdown, it became clear that the Frenchman was not going to subside under the brilliance of the event’s rising star. During the self-styled Ultimate Garden Clash - a virtual, simultaneously broadcast event involving vaulters in their own backyards that was initiated by Lavillenie to offer a glimmer of competitive action during the long weeks of inactivity - the challenge to see how many 5.00m clearances could be achieved within half-an-hour ended with him and Duplantis tied.

Albeit that, as organisers debated whether to bolt on a "jump off" element to the novel event, Duplantis hared off down his own runway in Louisiana and notched another clearance, just for good measure…

While it was clear that Lavillenie’s innate competitiveness was still massively in place, a training accident that happened soon after in that same back garden in Clermont-Ferrand left him with a broken thumb. Not ideal.

Fast forward to 2021, and more specifically January 29, the date of the first World Athletics Indoor Tour gold meeting of the season. The headlines were destined to belong to Britain’s world 200 metres champion Dina Asher-Smith in her first indoor appearance for three years, and she did not disappoint as she equalled her British 60m record of 7.08sec in securing victory.

But the startling performance of the night came from the 34-year-old home vaulter as, bolstered by matching his best ever season-opener with a 5.92m clearance in Bordeaux, he won the event with just three, insouciant, first-time clearances at 5.62, 5.80 and then 5.88m before rounding off with a first time success at 5.95m that topped the 2021 world rankings.

Boom. Gauntlet thrown down.

Two days later at the Dusseldorf Silver meeting Duplantis - who is based in the United States but competes for Sweden - took over the lead in the rankings with an effort of 6.01m.

But, in a twist that faintly recalled past "I’ll see you and I’ll raise you" exchanges between Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, the new lead lasted only a few hours as Lavillenie responded at a meeting in Tourcoing, recording 6.02m. It was his first 6.00m clearance since 2016, and there was no mistaking the surge of sheer, raw satisfaction it produced.

Duplantis, being Duplantis, responded in turn, returning himself to the top of the class with a  6.03m clearance in Rouen.

But that rattle of exchanges has already confirmed something thrilling for athletics followers - this is a rivalry that is still licensed to fly…