MONDO DUPLANTIS delivered a spectacular performance on the third night of the Tokyo world championships by breaking the pole vault world record for the fourteenth time.
The American-born Swede secured his third consecutive world title before clearing a height of 6.30 metres to set a new global benchmark.
He had already won the gold medal and all other events had concluded when officials raised the bar one centimetre above his previous record of 6.29m set in Budapest.
Duplantis narrowly missed on his first two attempts but succeeded on his third try to the delight of a packed National Stadium crowd.
The 25-year-old celebrated enthusiastically with his family in the stands before being surrounded by his thrilled competitors.
“I am so happy, I cannot explain it,” Duplantis said after his record-breaking jump.
“For the past two weeks I really enjoyed being in Tokyo. I felt the only way to leave Japan was to set the world record.”
He added that his immediate focus was simply to enjoy the moment rather than plan his next competition.
The vibrant atmosphere contrasted sharply with the empty stadium during his Olympic victory four years earlier due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Seven vaulters cleared 5.90 metres in an exceptionally strong competition that ultimately became a duel between Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis.
The Greek vaulter secured silver with a jump of 6.00m but failed at higher heights while attempting to challenge the dominant champion.
Duplantis cleared 6.10m and 6.15m with ease before delivering his fourth world record jump of the season.
“I was feeling really good the whole day,” he explained.
“I knew I had the record in me. If I have the right runway, I know that everything is possible.”
Australian Kurtis Marschall earned bronze with a personal best-equalling 5.95m jump, matching his podium finish from two years earlier.
“It was an amazing night, the fans were fantastic,” Marschall said.
“Mondo is from another planet. He is doing incredible things, things many people thought were impossible.” – Reuters