Duplantis breaks pole vault record second time in a week HOT STREAK
Swede clears 6.18m at Glasgow indoor meet, improves own world mark set in Poland
GLASGOW: Sweden’s Armand Duplantis set a world pole vault record of 6.18 metres at an indoor meeting in Glasgow on Saturday, adding one centimetre to the record he set in Poland last week.
Duplantis, who won silver at last year’s world championships in Doha, cleared the bar with something to spare and won a world record bonus cheque for $30,000.
The old record of 6.16m set by French vaulter Renaud Lavillenie had stood since 2014 until Duplantis broke it last Saturday in Torun, Poland.
Duplantis, known by his nickname “Mondo”, did a lap of the track, signing autographs in Glasgow.
“There are so many things that go into this, so many years of hard work,” he said. “It’s really complicated but I guess when you’re doing it right it seems simple.
“I feel good on the runway, I feel fast, I feel strong and I feel I am working the poles I have really well. I’m excited for the outdoor season. The Olympics is the biggest thing that a track and field athlete can compete in and that is when I want to have my best competition this season.
“It is a good start but that’s where I want to be the best.”
Duplantis opened on Saturday at 5.50m and got over 5.75m on his second try. Two-time world champion Sam Kendricks led at that point, but the US athlete exited the competition at the next height, 5.84m.
The 20-year-old sailed over on his first attempt. With no one else left in the competition, he then flew over 6m.
Duplantis had the bar moved up to 6.18m and one attempt was all he needed. A minor technical glitch with the starting equipment for the women’s 400m allowed Duplantis to take his first attempt without waiting for long, and he clinched the record.
“This was such a great competition. There was such great energy the crowd was giving me and I really thrive off it,” he said.
The pole vaulter was born in the United States to American father and coach Greg—a former pole vaulter who cleared 5.80m— and Swedish heptathlete and volleyball player mother Helena. He grew up with a pole vault pit in his garden at home in Louisiana, and at 17 had already cleared 5.90m.
Duplantis’ performances mark him out as a clear favourite for the Olympic title in Tokyo later this year.
He took silver at October’s world athletics in Doha behind Hendricks just months after turning professional. Duplantis credits a new fitness drive with success on the same pole he used in the Qatari capital.
“These meets are important to get a lot of technical things done and sort out the little details to have that perfect jump at the right time,” Duplantis said. “I take each meet at a time and try to go 110 percent and hopefully the results show.”
Sergey Bubka’s 6.14m in 1994 remains the highest outdoor clearance, but athletics’ world body IAAF has not distinguished between indoor and outdoor records since 2000.