Here he is on top of the world. Sweden’s Armand Duplantis broke his own world pole vault record on Monday by jumping 6.19 meters on his third attempt at the indoor meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. The 22-year-old Olympic champion has held the record since February 2020, when he cleared 6.17m in Torun (Poland) then 6.18m in Glasgow (Scotland) a week apart.
huge favorite
A true pole vaulting prodigy, “World”, who was born and raised in the United States in Lafayette (Louisiana), competes under the colors of Sweden, his mother’s country, where he is trained by his father, also a pole vaulter. At 22, Duplantis hovers above the competition: European champion in 2018 in Berlin at only 18 years old, he won an Olympic title last summer at the Tokyo Games with a jump of 6.02 m. He advances as an immense favorite of the Indoor Worlds disputed in the same arena in Belgrade next week, to win one of the two titles which are missing from his list, with the outdoor world title which he will have the opportunity to win in July in Eugene (Oregon).
This Monday, he broke the world record in an almost empty room, and in a competition where he was the only pole vaulter at the international level. After having easily crossed 5.61 m, 5.85 m then 6 m, he passed 6.19 m on his third attempt before rushing into the arms of his companion at the edge of the track.
