The Swedish Armand “Mondo” Duplantis breaks the world record in pole vaulting and wins gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics, clearing a height of 6.25 meters on his third attempt. The jumper surpasses the Olympic record of 6.10 meters, which allows him to beat the competition from American Sam Kendricks, who takes silver with 5.95 meters, and Filipino Ernest John Obiena, who finishes with bronze at 5.90 meters.
He then raises the bar by 15 centimeters, failing his first two attempts but succeeding on the third. Duplantis thus breaks the world record which he held with a jump of 6.24 meters on April 20 in Xiamen, China. Since February 8, 2020, Duplantis has recorded a total of eight world records.
Right after breaking the record, Duplantis, in front of 80,000 spectators, rushes to kiss his girlfriend Desiré Inglander, a 23-year-old Swedish model and influencer, who is watching the event from the stands. Then Mondo is honored by none other than King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and his consort, Queen Silvia. Mondo’s lap of honor is accompanied by the song “Dancing Queen,” a hit by the Swedish pop group ABBA.