athletics
Eighth world record: Duplantis surprises himself
At the first Diamond League meeting of the Olympic year, pole vault star Armand Duplantis set a record. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
Pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis remains a phenomenon. In China he sets the next world record almost effortlessly.
6.24 meters and no limit in sight: Armand “Mondo” Duplantis continues to advance into new pole vault dimensions and only has the next record as an opponent. With his eighth world record, the high-flyer has now achieved… The athletics world even surprised itself at the start of the Diamond League season in China. Duplantis jumped one centimeter less high last September at the final of the competition series in Eugene in the USA.
The 24-year-old Swede admitted afterwards that he “didn’t really expect” the next record in Xiamen. Despite the World Cup title at the beginning of March, his indoor season was rather mediocre. In Glasgow, Duplanti’s 6.05 meters was enough for gold, and he jumped to records under the hall roof early in the year – but not this winter. “That’s why I had a bit of fire in me today. I wanted to show what I’m really capable of,” reported the Olympic champion.
Duplantis crossed 6.00 meters – still a magical mark for most pole vaulters in the world – on Saturday as easily as if he were still jumping in. He then had the bar raised 24 centimeters higher and flew over it comfortably in the first attempt.
Still room for improvement
Given the space between the crossbar and Duplantis, it was clear: the next world record was definitely coming. He has increased the record by seven centimeters since 2020, always in small slices because of the bonuses, like the great Sergej Bubka once did. It seemed hard to imagine that someone would jump so much higher than the former dominator from Ukraine.
“I think I have even greater heights in me,” announced the always calm and modest Duplantis after his coup in the southern Chinese coastal city. He doesn’t actually have any sporting competition with a view to the Olympics in Paris: Second-placed American Sam Kendricks, a two-time world champion, came second in Xiamen – with 5.82 meters.