Mondo Duplantis breaks the world record in pole vault for the ninth time in four years, and also repeats as Olympic champion
Armand Duplantis has eclipsed its own world record in pole vault by jumping 6.25 meters in his third attempt at that height in the final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Swede thus won the Olympic gold medal for the second time in a row. He has also been crowned champion in the pole vault at the last three World Athletics Championships.
Swedish athlete Armand Duplantis during the men’s pole vault final, in which he set a world record of 6.25m to win gold, at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Stade de France, on August 5, 2024, in Paris, France. EFE/ Julio Muñoz
Duplantis, 24, has broken the world record in the pole vault for the ninth time in four years. He broke his mark of 6.24 metres, set only in April this year at the Xiamen Diamond League.
With a jump of 6.00 meters, he had already guaranteed himself the gold, surpassing the efforts of the American Sam Kendricks5.95 meters, winner of the silver medal, and the Greek Emmanuel Karaliwho took bronze by jumping 5.90 meters.
Duplantis went on to break the Olympic record in the final with a jump of 6.10 metres.
The Swede sought to seal his Paris performance in style and chose to attempt to break his own world record by one centimetre. At Duplantis’ insistence, the crowd applauded him, cheering him on and chanting his name, “Mondo, Mondo!”, before each jump. His competitors cheered him on, wanting to see a new record as much as the fans.
The European – whose 6.02m jump in the Tokyo Olympics final was enough to win gold – narrowly missed his first two attempts at 6.25m, narrowly missing the crossbar, but eventually the bar fell and the frustration was evident on his face. Duplantis’ third jump at 6.25m, however, was completely clean and undeniably sensational. The Swede immediately celebrated and ran straight to hug and kiss his girlfriend Desiré Inglander.
The crowd at the Stade de France went wild, cheering Mondo Duplantis, elated to have witnessed a historic moment at the Paris Olympic Games. A new world record and a second Olympic record in a magnificent men’s pole vault final.
