Armand Duplantis once again improves his world record – Libération

2024-04-21 08:41:29

Swedish pole vault phenomenon Armand Duplantis raised his world record by one centimeter on Saturday April 20 during the opening meeting of the Diamond League in Xiamen, China.

Three months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a new world record for pole vaulting has already been set, at 6.24 m. From his first summer competition which was held on Saturday April 20 in Xiamen in China, Swedish pole vault specialist Armand “Mondo” Duplantis raised his world record by one centimeter during the opening meeting of the Diamond League .

At 24, this is the eighth time that Duplantis has improved the world record in his discipline since he seized it at the expense of Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie four years ago, in February 2020. The most The prodigy’s recent progression only dates back to mid-September at the end of his year 2023, in Eugene (Oregon), in the United States, the country where he was born. Never has the Diamond League, the most prestigious meeting circuit in world athletics, opened as early as this April 20. On his first attempt, in the humidity of Xiamen on Saturday evening, Armand Duplantis crossed the bar raised to 6.24 m with a considerable margin of several centimeters.

Hyper favorite status for Olympic gold at the Stade de France

Earlier in the Chinese competition, neither 5.62 m, nor 5.82 m, nor 6 m stood up to the reigning Olympic champion, double world champion and double European champion. His closest competitor, the American Sam Kendricks, finished 42 centimeters lower.

“I felt it was within my reach after my 6m jump,” he says. Compared to my expectations, my indoor season wasn’t great, so I had this fire in me today. I really wanted to prove to myself that I could do better than that.” “Better than that,” is how Duplantis describes his winter season, including a jump 6.05 m high which gave him world indoor gold at the beginning of March in Glasgow, Scotland.

This high-flying performance, moreover from his summer start, only reinforces Duplantis’ hyper-favorite status for Olympic gold at the Stade de France in early August. He is now expected next Saturday in Suzhou, for the second Chinese stage of the Diamond League.