- World record holder Armand Duplantis wins the City Event in pole vaulting at the Athletissima in Lausanne convincingly.
- The Swede clears 6.15 m, thus shattering the meeting record.
- The Athletissima at Pontaise features a total of 13 other Diamond League disciplines and takes place Thursday evening.
On Wednesday evening, the Athletissima was launched with a City Event, the men’s pole vault competition. With Armand Duplantis, the best in the field was present on the Place de la Navigation in Lausanne – and the Swede fully met expectations.
The 24-year-old had already secured the day’s victory after four jumps. The high-flyer cleared 5.62 m, 5.82 m, 5.92 m, and 6.00 m each on his first attempt. The last competitor at the 6 m height, American Sam Kendricks, then bowed out.
After that, the only question left was whether Duplantis would challenge his own world record (6.25 m) or “only” the meeting record (6.10 m). The two-time Olympic champion opted for the latter and set 6.15 m for himself.
Everything fits on the third attempt
In his first attempt, Duplantis failed for the first time that evening, and he aborted the second attempt. On the third try, everything came together: Duplantis flew over 6.15 m and was celebrated thoroughly by the hundreds of spectators. The two-time world champion stopped there and did not attempt to break his world record, which he had already improved twice this season.
Behind Duplantis, Kendricks was pleased with second place. Shared third place went to Sondre Guttormsen (NOR), Kurtis Marschall (AUS), and John Ernest Obiena (PHI), who all cleared 5.82 m.
Imsand clears 5.35 m
Swiss athlete Valentin Imsand also participated in Lausanne. The Walliser, who has a personal best of 5.61 m and is the weakest jumper in the field, cleared the starting height of 5.35 m on his second attempt. However, Imsand failed three times at 5.52 m. The 19-year-old has never jumped higher than 5.50 m this season.
The actual Athletissima takes place on Thursday at Pontaise. The program includes 13 more Diamond League disciplines. SRF broadcasts the meeting live starting at 20:00.