The prevailing thought prior to the World Athletics Championships was that Armand “Mondo” Duplantis’ only rival in the men’s pole vault was the world record.
Not even that was a match for the man hailed as the greatest pole vaulter of all time.
After Duplantis outlasted his human rivals in the men’s pole vault final on Monday, all that was left was an attempt to raise the bar higher for the world record.
He came close on his first attempt at 6.30 meters, and it looked as if he had set the record on his second try before the bar followed him to the mat. But the third time — his final attempt no matter what— was the charm, as Duplantis cleared the mark to set a new world record.
The fans at Tokyo’s National Stadium erupted in cheers — as did some of his rival vaulters — and the Swedish star began to celebrate.
It’s the 14th time Duplantis has raised the world record, which was 6.17 meters the first time he broke it.
Duplantis cleared each prior height with ease on his way to a third straight gold medal at the world championships.
Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis took silver after his night ended at 6.00 meters. Bronze went to Kurtis Marschall of Australia, who cleared 5.95 meters, a personal best.
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