BELGRADE (AFP, REUTERS) – Armand Duplantis, already assured of his place in pole vault historical past, flew even greater on Monday (March 7) when he broke his personal world report with a leap of 6.19m on the Belgrade Indoor Meeting.
It was a efficiency he might solely describe as “perfection”.
The 22-year-old, who had already gained the pole vault meet in Belgrade earlier than his third try, improved the earlier report by 1cm.
He nudged the bar together with his knee barely however however cleared it earlier than leaping off the mat and pumping his fists in celebration.
“A height like 6.19 – it demands perfection,” stated the American-born Swede.
“All the numbers have to be right. So I just figured it out on that last attempt and I was able to get over it finally.”
Duplantis now owns the three highest marks within the self-discipline. He broke Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie’s 6.16m world mark with a clearance of 6.17m in February 2020 after which eclipsed that report only a week later by one other centimetre.
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The Olympic and 2018 European pole vault champion will now be keen to finish his set of gold medals on the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July.
He had made a number of makes an attempt to clear 6.19m beforehand, together with on the Tokyo Games final August, and revealed he may need tried as many as 50 instances.
“It’s been a long time coming. I’ve never had a height that has given me that much trouble, so it’s a very good feeling. It was really hard fought over these past two years. I’m really happy,” stated Duplantis, who believes he might placed on a good higher efficiency when he returns to Belgrade subsequent week for the World Indoor Championships, which is one other title lacking from his report.
“I don’t think this is the highest I’m ever going to jump. I think that there’s going to be a lot more to come.”
Also generally known as “Mondo”, the Olympic gold secured by Duplantis boosted his standing in a sport trying to find star high quality for the reason that retirement of Jamaican dash legend Usain Bolt in 2017.
His exuberant celebrations and appears straight out of a teenage romantic movie, a style he loves, imply he suits the invoice.
Duplantis is a product of a sport-obsessed household with their very own vaulting equipment of their Louisiana backyard.
