Athletics-Duplantis produces perfection to break world records in pole vault for men
PHOTO PHOTO: Muller Indoor Grand Prix Photocall
(Reuters) -Sweden Armand Duplantis broke his own world record in men’s pole vault on Monday, shooting 6.19 meters at his third attempt at the Belgrade Indoor Meeting in a performance he could only describe as “perfection”.
The 22-year-old improved the previous record by one centimeter.
Duplantis had already secured the victory in Belgrade before he took the record-breaking leap, pushed lightly to the bar with his knee but still cleared before jumping off the mat and pumping his fists to celebrate.
“A height of 6.19 – it requires perfection,” Duplantis said. “All the numbers have to be correct. So I just figured it out on the last try and I was finally able to get over it.”
Duplantis now owns the three highest grades in the discipline. He broke the Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie’s world mark of 6.16 m with a clearance of 6.17 m in February 2020 and darkened that record just a week later by another centimeter.
The Olympic and European pole vault champion 2018 will now be eager to complete his set of gold medals at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon in July.
He had made several attempts to complete 6.19 m earlier, including at the Tokyo Games in August, and said he may have tried as many as 50 times.
“It’s been a long time coming. I’ve never had a length that has given me so much trouble, so it’s a very good feeling. It’s been a really hard fight the last two years. I’m really happy,” said Duplantis. who thinks he could do an even better job when he returns to Belgrade later this month for the World Indoor Championships.
“I do not think this is the highest I will ever jump. I think there will be many more to come.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery, editing by Pritha Sarkar)