Armand Duplantis, in his third attempt, cleared 6.19m to break the indoor world pole vault record he himself owned.
He achieved this feat at the Belgradeo Indoor Meeting in Serbia, where the Indoor World Championships will be held next week.
He broke the world record in an almost empty hall, and in a competition where he was the only top-ranked pole vaulter.
After smoothly passing 5.61m, 5.85m and then 6m, he passed 6.19m on his third attempt before running into his girlfriend’s arms at the edge of the track.
His previous best of 6.18 came on 15 February 2020 at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. In fact, the 22-year-old Swedish Olympic champion held the record since February 2020, when she covered 6.17m in Torun, Poland, and then made her mark in Glasgow in a week.
World records can be set indoors or out in the pole vault.
Duplantis, nicknamed “Mondo”, was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, but competes for Sweden through his mother, who trains him with his father.
He became European champion in 2018 in Berlin at just 18 years old, and took home the Olympic title in Tokyo last summer with a jump of 6.02m.
He will be the overwhelming favorite to claim one of two titles missing from his record with the world outdoor title next week that he will have the opportunity to win in Eugene, Oregon, in July.
Sweden’s Armand had dominated the indoor pole-vault competition in Uppsala a few weeks earlier, winning with an effort of 6.04m, but failing to improve on his own world record of 6.18m.
The 22-year-old said after the event, “I am happy with the win but a little upset about not being able to break the record.”
“I was quite nervous,” admitted the Tokyo Olympic champion. “It was a domestic competition and I had to win it, so I was happy to do it for everyone in Uppsala.”
(with inputs from AFP)
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