Breathtaking ! Armand Duplantis of Sweden, known as "Mondo", again broke the world record for pole vault by passing 6.18m on Saturday indoors in Glasgow with a large margin, just one week after crossing 6.17m. He then planted himself on his two legs and crossed his hands under his arms like the French footballer world champion Kylian Mbappé. Another phenomenon in world sport, the Swede has crossed this bar, adding an inch to his recent world record. "It takes so much to make a big jump, first I want to think about my parents who have been there since I started in the family garden," thanked the BBC microphone the athlete, still trained by his father ( technical) and his mother (physical). “These are years of hard work, when it sounds simple today. I feel very good, fast and powerful. I am excited by this season with the Olympic Games, I hope to succeed my best competition. It's a good start to the season, but it's the Games that I want to succeed. ”
“It's not even incredible given his jumps. It is gaining momentum, it will still hurt on the next competitions "
Damien InocencioAt only 20 years old, Duplantis' performances are dazzling, but above all dizzying: his record jump was achieved on the first try and with a margin that seems significant, suggesting that he could continue to beat his record in the coming days. Armand Duplantis is indeed expected at the Liévin meeting on February 19 and then at the Clermont meeting on February 23, organized by his friend and mentor Renaud Lavillenie, who had broken the world record six years ago today (6.16 m on February 15, 2014 in Donetsk). Duplantis had erased it from the shelves last week in Torun (Poland). “It's not even incredible given his jumps. It is growing in strength, it will still hurt on the next competitions, ”warns AFP Damien Inocencio, the former coach of Renaud Lavillenie, now a coach in China. “Today, his jump was almost 6.30 m. In Düsseldorf (ten days ago, he almost passed 6.17 m) he seemed surprised. At Torun, he was under pressure because he knew he could break the record. Now he's in a relaxed mood and showing us his full potential, he's released. ”
A demonstration
Just over five months from the Tokyo Olympics, Duplantis is also a huge favorite for the supreme title. Saturday in Glasgow, the list of participants suggested a duel between Duplantis, vice-champion of the outdoor world in October in Doha and the American world champion Sam Kendricks, who jumped 6.01 m last week. But Duplantis didn't need anyone, Kendricks having failed to do better than 5.75m. The Swede warmed up to 5.50 m before passing 5.75 m on the second try. Then it was a demonstration: 5.84 m, then 6 m, yet a legendary bar of the discipline, insolently on the first try, and finally 6.18 m.
A pole prodigy, Armand Duplantis was born and raised in Lafayette (Louisiana), but competes in Sweden, his mother's country. Mondo has crossed all stages at full speed: he holds numerous unofficial world records in the youth categories and was revealed by becoming senior European champion in Berlin in August 2018, at only 18 years old with a jump to 6, 05 m. The athlete with an unimpressive size for this discipline (1.81 m) but at recognized speed, forged his technique as a family, dedicated to this spectacular discipline. His father holds a record at 5.80 m, and he was confronted on the sautoir of the family garden with his brother Andreas, ex-international Swedish (5.36 m), Antoine, become baseball player (3.96 m), and his sister Johanna, also a young pole vaulter (3.65 m at 17 years old).
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