Just as he thought he would be ready for the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Sopot next month, the extraordinary few days in the life of Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie has taken another turn.
The new pole vault world record holder has been forced to pull out of the main event of the winter because of the cut he sustained when trying to go even higher than the 6.16m mark he had reached in Donetsk.
As he went for 6.21m, he fell on the track and sustained a cut to his left heel. He needed 16 stitches in the injury, but stressed his determination to be in Poland for the Championships which start on March 7.
But Lavillenie, 27, has revealed that his recovery time is longer than expected, meaning he will miss out on another chance of gold.
He said: 'It's nothing really serious, no bone or ligament has been injured, it's just a big wound. I will take my time to recover well, which means I will not put my foot on the ground for at least two weeks.'
Speaking in Paris, he looked ahead and thinks he can improve on what has been achieved this winter.
'Obviously I am thinking a lot about the future because I am still young, I still have the best years and competitions ahead of me and I still have a margin for progress,' said Lavillenie, talking to Reuters.
'It all happened quite quickly this season and I feel there are still things that can be refined.'
The prospect then for the summer, where the European Athletics Championships in Zurich will take centre stage, could be for something spectacular too.
But for now, he is just absorbing the praise after his brilliant performance in Donetsk.
'I've been compared to a list of champions who belong to another world to me,' added Lavillenie. 'It's so big that making history is almost scary.'