Athletics-Duplantis set for Bolt party to celebrate pole vault world record
STOCKHOLM, June 15 (Reuters) - Sweden's Armand Duplantis said he was looking forward to a night on the town with former sprint king Usain Bolt after setting a pole vault world record of 6.28 metres at Sunday's Diamond League event in Stockholm.
Duplantis cruised through the competition, clearing his four jumps up to six metres at the first attempt before raising the bar to 6.28m to break the world record he set back in February by one centimetre.
That set up a wild night of celebrations with Bolt, who still holds the world records for the 100m and 200m distances.
"For me it's pretty cool, actually," Duplantis told Swedish broadcaster SVT. "He said if I break the world record we can party tonight, so I'm sure it's going to be a fun night with him, but I'm just so happy."
Bolt watched Thursday's Diamond League event in Oslo before taking a train to Stockholm where he said he planned to try out the nightlife.
But the two track and field stars may not be alone as Duplantis had a slew of family members in attendance in Stockholm to see him break the record for the 12th time.
"There were so many of them, it took me 10 minutes to hug them all!" Duplantis joked. "My two brothers, my mother, my grandmother and my grandfather. It's been a few years since they had been to a competition to see me. They battled to be here.
"My grandma, she wanted me to promise yesterday that I would break the world record today, so I had a lot of pressure on me to do that in front of her, and I'm glad that I could do it for her," he added.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor Editing by Toby Davis)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Gambhir, BCCI questioned over Sarfaraz's exclusion as batter slams hundred: 'What has he done wrong?'
Questions over Sarfaraz Khan's absence from India's squad for the England Test series intensified after the Mumbai middle-order batter scored 92 as well as 76-ball 101 for India A against England Lions and the Shubman Gill-led Indian team. read more Sarfaraz Khan has scored a century and three fifties in the six Tests that he has played for India so far. Reuters There were quite a few surprises in store when the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee unveiled India's squad for the upcoming Test series against England. While the selectors decided to include some fresh faces including Sai Sudharsan and hand Karun Nair a recall after eight years, the absence of some individuals raised eyebrows. Among the players who have been overlooked for the five-match Test series against England that gets underway four days from now is middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan, a domestic run-machine who already has a majestic 150 along with three half-centuries to his name in six Test appearances. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD More recently, Sarfaraz struck 92 for India A in their first unofficial Test against England Lions before smashing a 76-ball 101 in the intra-squad warm-up match against the Shubman Gill-led Indian team that will be facing Ben Stokes' Englishmen. Former India opener Aakash Chopra is among those who sympathise with Sarfaraz and feel the Mumbaikar has the right to feel bad about not getting chances despite making the most of whatever opportunities he's getting at the moment. 'Sarfaraz Khan hasn't done anything wrong thus far. In fact, he hasn't done anything wrong till now. The one match he played, he scored 90-plus runs. He couldn't score a hundred, but he scored runs. After that, you didn't play him in the next match, and he is not part of the Test team,' Chopra said on his YouTube channel. 'He hasn't failed in England, Australia and South Africa thus far, but you haven't given him a chance. It is not a good story. I can understand if you don't have confidence in his technique or playing style, that he might not be able to score runs there, then you have to take a call. Then don't send him with India A also. because you have a pre-conceived notion,' he added. Chopra questions the point of playing Sarfaraz in India A games Chopra also mentioned the fact that Sarfaraz did not get a single opportunity across five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia despite his 150 against the Black Caps at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium before the tour. He added that while Sarfaraz did fail in the subsequent Tests against New Zealand – in Pune and Mumbai – hardly any of the other batters stepped up either. 'If you think he can make runs, and that's why he has been picked for the India A squad, then play him in the India Test team too. What wrong has he done. He made a ton in Bengaluru. Then he failed in two matches, but no one else scored in those matches. He did not even play a single match in Australia, in fact he was not even part of the conversation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'So, in such a scenario, one might think that something wrong is happening with him. What has he done wrong? Maybe, absolutely nothing. But he is not getting a place in the XI. in fact he is not in the scheme of things, which is a little sad, if your name is Sarfaraz Khan,' Chopra added. The Indian team management and selectors have instead backed Nair, who had been dropped from the Test team just months after becoming only the second Indian to score a Test triple century, to shine in the middle-order in the upcoming Test series.
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
'If I Break World Record...': Armand Duplantis Reveals Usain Bolt's 'Party Tonight' Promise
Last Updated: Armand Duplantis says Usain Bolt promised that the two would party together if he improved his career high. Sweden's Armand Duplantis says hopes of a rare meet-up with sprint legend Usain Bolt acted as an extra motivation for him ahead of his world record triumph at the Stockholm Diamond League event on Sunday. Duplantis raised the bar once again by breaching 6.28 metres and setting a new pole vault world record at the Stockholm event. It was the 12th time in his career that he broke past the world-best mark. The double Olympic champion had the crowd behind him after promising fans that he would aim to beat the record he had set yet again. But an amusing pre-game conversation with Bolt further provided the 25-year-old a spring in his stride. Speaking to Swedish broadcaster SVT, Duplantis shared Bolt had promised him they would party together if he backed his words and shattered his career high. 'For me it's pretty cool, actually. He said if I break the world record we can party tonight, so I'm sure it's going to be a fun night with him, but I'm just so happy," Duplantis said. Bolt was present for Thursday's Diamond League event in Oslo before the legend took a train to Stockholm where he set out to try the nightlife. The 100m and 200m sprint record champion was joined on Sunday night by Duplantis and his family members, who were in attendance when he improved on his previous record set in February by one centimetre on his first attempt. 'There were so many of them, it took me 10 minutes to hug them all! My two brothers, my mother, my grandmother and my grandfather. It's been a few years since they had been to a competition to see me. They battled to be here," Duplantis said. 'My grandma, she wanted me to promise yesterday that I would break the world record today, so I had a lot of pressure on me to do that in front of her, and I'm glad that I could do it for her," he added. Australia's Kurtis Marschall was Duplantis' closest rival at the Diamond League at 5.90m before he failed his three attempts to clear the six-metre mark. The Stadion crowd stood in elation for the local star after he powered through his run-up, planted a pole and soared through to the world record. 'This was one of my biggest goals and dreams, to set a world record here at Stadion. It's like the Olympics and Stadion, they're the same level for me. I really wanted to do it, I had my whole family here, from both sides, it's magic, it's magic. Every time I broke the world record, I felt it in my first jump that 'this could be the day', but today it felt a little tougher. It didn't feel that natural from the beginning, it didn't feel great in my legs, but I only needed one (try)," said an emotional Duplantis.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
Duplantis and Usain Bolt plan party to celebrate pole vault world record
Sweden's Armand Duplantis said he was looking forward to a night on the town with former sprint king Usain Bolt after setting a pole vault world record of 6.28 metres at Sunday's Diamond League event in Stockholm. Duplantis cruised through the competition, clearing his four jumps up to six metres at the first attempt before raising the bar to 6.28m to break the world record he set back in February by one centimetre. That set up a wild night of celebrations with Bolt, who still holds the world records for the 100m and 200m distances. 'For me it's pretty cool, actually,' Duplantis told Swedish broadcaster SVT. 'He said if I break the world record we can party tonight, so I'm sure it's going to be a fun night with him, but I'm just so happy.' RELATED: Mondo Duplantis' record at Diamond League — A staggering winning streak Bolt watched Thursday's Diamond League event in Oslo before taking a train to Stockholm where he said he planned to try out the nightlife. But the two track and field stars may not be alone as Duplantis had a slew of family members in attendance in Stockholm to see him break the record for the 12th time. 'There were so many of them, it took me 10 minutes to hug them all!' Duplantis joked. 'My two brothers, my mother, my grandmother and my grandfather. It's been a few years since they had been to a competition to see me. They battled to be here. 'My grandma, she wanted me to promise yesterday that I would break the world record today, so I had a lot of pressure on me to do that in front of her, and I'm glad that I could do it for her,' he added.
