2023-09-18 22:55:38
There was no shortage of discussion around the new world record in the pole vault (6.23 m) established Sunday by Swedish Olympic champion Armand Duplantis during the finals of the Athletics Diamond League in Eugene ( Oregon, United States). Thibaut Collet, French pole vaulter and finalist at the last world championships, publicly welcomed the new great performance of the Swedish Olympic champion.
What is your view on this new feat from Duplantis?
THIBAUT COLLET. It always does a little something for us, it’s our sport. Seeing that a guy is alone in the world on his planet, it’s weird, it’s impressive for all the pole vaulters in the world. There are the top 5 in the world, four together, and him far in front. Not sure that in the years to come there will be guys who will succeed in making him tremble. But hey, it’s simple, we’re used to it, it’s an alien.
Why is he so strong?
He is one of the fastest pole vaulters in history. In a sprint, he arrives the fastest. I am lucid in terms of potential, I don’t have what Duplantis does in my legs, he’s a Martian! He bends huge poles compared to his size, it has a catapult effect. The others try, but he has such a big reserve of speed that he gets thrown. The weight/perch ratio is extraordinary, he uses numbers that are not proportional to his physique.
He sets the bar so high. Could this discourage other athletes?
What we can say is that it trivializes high performance in pole vaulting. Passing the 6 m mark is already extraordinary. There are only around twenty of them who have done it, and they are the best in the world. But when he is 6 m tall, we consider him to be underperforming.
Do these records put distance between him and the rest of the athletes in the discipline?
No, because he’s a great guy, he has his feet on the ground and there is no harmful rivalry. Despite the records, he is not “alone against all”. He is very nice to everyone, I remember after the final at the World Championship this summer, I scored 5.90, and he congratulated me on France TV. We did a lot of competitions together, and I had a great time with this guy, he’s a model, a relentless guy since he was little. This guy, he has fiber as we say, he feels everything that happens. He is gifted with discipline so he could get a big head but he doesn’t.
How far do you think he can go?
He’s the only one who has the answer! (laughing) We can only watch, well only admire. In my opinion, it will be between 6.25 m and 6.30/35 m. This winter, in Clermont-Ferrand [lors du meeting All Star Perche] the jump of 6.22 m is so huge, there is so much margin that we say to ourselves maybe 6.30 m would have done it. The guy is doing world record after world record, so the limit is difficult to set. I’m sure he’s going to be the greatest athlete in the history of athletics.
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