Swede Armand Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record on Monday by jumping to 6.19m on his 3rd attempt at the indoor meeting in Belgrade (Serbia).
The 22-year-old Olympic champion has held the record since February 2020, when he cleared 6.17m in Torun (Poland) then 6.18m in Glasgow (Scotland) a week apart.
A true pole vaulting prodigy, “Mondo”, who was born and raised in the United States in Lafayette (Louisiana), competes under the colors of Sweden, the country of his mother, who trains him with his father.
At 22, Duplantis hovers above the competition.
He became European champion in 2018 in Berlin at just 18 years old, and won the Olympic title last summer in Tokyo with a jump of 6.02m.
The gifted child, who hesitated to opt for baseball (like his brother, Antoine, who plays in MLB) willingly cites Pierre Quinon and Thierry Vigneron as models.
For a long time, he also had a poster of Renaud Lavillenie in his room, in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The two champions are close.
“I consider him as my brother”, emphasizes Lavillenie.
Armand Duplantis advances as the huge favorite of the Indoor Worlds disputed in the same arena in Belgrade next week, to win one of the two titles which is missing from his list, with the outdoor world title which he will have opportunity to win in July in Eugene (Oregon).
This Monday, he broke the world record in an almost empty room, and in a competition where he was the only pole vaulter at the international level.
After having easily crossed 5.61 m, 5.85 m then 6 m, he passed 6.19 m on his 3rd attempt before rushing into the arms of his partner at the edge of the track.
