A month after planetary gold, embellished with a world record (6.21 m), Armand Duplantis won the European pole vault title for the second time in a row, on Saturday in Munich, Germany. The 22-year-old Swede, Olympic champion last year in Tokyo, won with a jump of 6.06m, in cool and humid conditions, ahead of the German Bo Kanda Lita Baehre (5.85m), and the Norwegian Pal Haugen Lillefosse (5.75m on the first try). French Thibaut Collet (5.75 m on the second attempt) ranks fifth.
For Duplantis, this competition looked like a walk in the park, with five bars crossed on his first attempt, from 5.65 m to 6.06 m, a record for the European Championships, which he already had. “Mondo” is now reigning Olympic champion, reigning outdoor and indoor world champion (2022), double European outdoor champion (2018 and 2022) and European indoor champion (2021).
Undefeated for a year
Duplantis has not lost the slightest competition of the year, both outdoors and indoors. There are 16 disputed and won in 2022, including 13 above 6 meters. His last defeat dates back to the end of August 2021 in Lausanne (Switzerland).
Renaud Lavillenie (35) failed three times at 5.85m after clearing 5.65m on the first try and placed seventh. As often in the past, the 2012 Olympic champion played with stalemates to put pressure on his opponents, and decided not to jump a bar at 5.75 m which could have finally offered him a medal, to turn directly around 5.85 m, which he was unable to cross.
“I have no regrets about my choices. It’s a bar rise that I have already done several times. Overall the feelings weren’t that bad. I didn’t want to play the small arms to make jumps to make jumps. I thought that 5.75 m would not be enough, ”commented the Clermontois, 5th last month at the Eugene Worlds.