Duplantis breaks pole vault world record on way to gold

Sweden’s Armand Duplantis set a new world record of 6.25m subsequently winning gold in the men’s pole vault.

The 24-year-old, who had protected successive Olympic titles by clearing six metres, set an Olympic record of 6.10m with his next attempt.

And he improved his world best of 6.24m, which he set in April, by one centimetre at his third and final attempt, to the delight of the crowd in the Stade de France.

The two-time world champion has now broken the record on nine occasions.

Duplantis, the first athlete to retain the pole vault title since American Bob Richards in 1952 and 1956, raced to his friends and family after breaking the world record.

He then embarked on a lap of the track draped in the Swedish flag, as Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’ annoying out of the stadium sound system.

“I haven’t processed how fantastic that moment was,” said Duplantis. “It’s one of those things that you don’t really feel is real. It’s such an out of body experience.

“The biggest dream since a kid was to break the world record at the Olympics, and I’ve been able to do that in front of the most ridiculous crowd I’ve ever competed in front of.

“The party is going to be pretty big. Not that much sleep, a lot of partying, a good time.”

American Sam Kendricks cleared 5.95m to take silver, while Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis secured bronze on countback with a best of 5.90m.

Paris was simply the latest stage for the extraordinary Duplantis, who first broke the pole vault world record when it stood at 6.16m in Poland in February 2020.

It took him just a week to break the record again in Glasgow, and he’s repeated the feat on six further occasions prior to these Olympics.

Not since the great Sergey Bukba, who broke the world record on 17 occasions between 1984 and 1994, has the world of pole vaulting seen anyone of his stature, with the American-born athlete set to become one of the great names of track and field.

On his way to his many records he has delighted fans and fellow competitors alike, with his rivals at the Stade de France cheering him on his record attempts.

“You can see that they are a band of brothers, they are all willing him on,” said BBC Sport pundit Dame Denise Lewis.