Swede Armand Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record this Monday by jumping 6.19 m on his third attempt during the indoor meeting in Belgrade (Serbia). The 22-year-old Olympic champion has held the record since February 2020, when he cleared 6.17 m in Torun (Poland) then 6.18 m in Glasgow (Scotland) a week apart.
A true pole vault prodigy, “Mondo”, who was born and raised in the United States in Lafayette (Louisiana), competes under the colors of Sweden, the country of his mother, who trains him with his father. At 22, Duplantis soars above the competition. He became European champion in 2018 in Berlin at just 18 years old, and won the Olympic title last summer in Tokyo with a jump of 6.02 m. The gifted little boy, who hesitated to opt for baseball (like his brother, Antoine, who plays in MLB) readily cites Pierre Quinon and Thierry Vigneron as models. For a long time, he also had a poster of Renaud Lavillenie in his room, in Lafayette, Louisiana. The two champions are close. “I consider him my brother”, underlines Lavillenie.
Armand Duplantis advances as a huge favorite for the Indoor Worlds contested in the same arena in Belgrade next week, to win one of the two titles missing from his record, with the outdoor world title which he will have 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 international level pole vaulter. After easily clearing 5.61 m, 5.85 m then 6 m, he passed 6.19 m on his 3rd attempt before rushing into the arms of his companion at the edge of the track.
