Swede Duplantis soars to new pole vault world record with 6.28m jump
STOCKHOLM :Sweden's Armand Duplantis soared 6.28 metres to break the world pole vault record at the Diamond League event in Stockholm on Sunday, the 12th time he has set a new world-best mark. The American-born double Olympic champion improved on his previous record, set in February, by one centimetre on his first attempt, making the most of the perfect conditions to delight the home crowd.
Having promised fans ahead of the competition that he would try to break the record, Duplantis encouraged the crowd to get behind him from the moment his name was announced at the Swedish capital's Olympic stadium, which was built for the 1912 Games, and they responded by wildly clapping and cheering his every attempt as he cruised through the competition.
Kurtis Marschall did his best to put it up to the hometown favourite, but the Australian could only manage a best effort of 5.90 before making three unsuccessful attempts to clear the six-metre mark.
That left the field clear for Duplantis as the bar was raised to 6.28 for his world record attempt, and once again, the 25-year-old made it look easy, powering through his run-up before planting his pole and soaring to another world record as the stadium exploded in jubilation.
Duplantis sprinted from the landing mat, tearing off his singlet to celebrate his first world record set on Swedish soil with his partner and family.
In the women's 400m hurdles, Dutch athlete Femke Bol blazed away over the last 100 metres to win in a season-best time for her of 52.11 seconds, eight-tenths of a second ahead of American Dalilah Muhammad, who came second.
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Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
‘Magical' Duplantis soars to pole vault world record in Stockholm with 6.28m jump
Sweden's Armand Duplantis celebrates after setting a new world record, 6.28m during the men's pole vault. PHOTO: REUTERS 'Magical' Duplantis soars to pole vault world record in Stockholm with 6.28m jump STOCKHOLM - Swedish double Olympic pole vault champion Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis increased his own world record again on June 15, clearing 6.28 metres to the delight of the home crowd at the Stockholm Diamond League meet. With victory in the event already guaranteed, Duplantis broke the world record for the 12th time as he sailed over the bar at the first attempt to improve on his 6.27m effort at Clermont-Ferrand in February. The 25-year-old ripped off his shirt in celebration and raced down the track in front of jubilant spectators at the Olympic stadium built for the 1912 Games. 'It's a magical feeling, it's hard to explain,' said Duplantis, who had not before broken the record in Sweden. 'I wanted this so bad. I wanted to do this in front of everybody here in Stockholm. 'It felt like really something special in the crowd today and I knew that everybody really wanted to see it too. 'It'll be one of the greatest memories for me, I think, in my career.' Duplantis notched up his 37th victory in 41 Diamond League outings, finishing well ahead of Australia's Kurtis Marschall who managed a best of 5.90m. The US-born Duplantis was in a class of his own in another punishing display of vaulting of the highest order, three days after a stellar display in Oslo. 'I kept saying it was the only thing I was missing in the accolades, to break a record in Sweden,' he said. 'I've checked off pretty much everything now.' Duplantis is the heavy favourite for a third successive world championship gold in Tokyo later this year. He is also a three-time indoor world champion. He first broke the world record in 2020 when he surpassed the 6.16m mark set by Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie. Duplantis intends to push the bar even higher after his Stockholm exploits. 'I'm going to jump higher. There's not much between me and 6.30, technically. It's just a few centimetres. I'm just a perfect day away from it,' he said. Hometown runner Andreas Almgren fed off the raucous atmosphere to set a new European record of 12min 44.27sec to win the men's 5,000m. Benjamin and Alfred on form Olympic champion Rai Benjamin edged out Alison dos Santos to win the men's 400m hurdles, with Karsten Warlhom a distant third. Warholm triumphed in the rarely-run 300km hurdles on his home track in Oslo on June 12, but Benjamin produced a world-leading time of 46.54sec over 400m. 'I think on Thursday I got a little too excited but I felt good today even though I was tired,' said Benjamin. Brazil's Alison Dos Santos (left) and US Rai Benjamin look on during the men's 300m hurdles event of the Oslo Diamond League Bislett Games 2025 in Oslo, on June 12. PHOTO: AFP Julien Alfred won the women's 100m in 10.75sec, the second fastest time of the year. It was only the Olympic gold medallist's second race of the season following her victory in Oslo. Britain's Dina Asher-Smith took second (10.93) ahead of Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith (11.00). Two-time Olympic bronze medallist Femke Bol won the women's 400m hurdles in a season's best time of 52.11sec. She finished ahead of American Dalilah Muhammad (52.91) and Panama's Gianna Woodruff (53.99). 'I am not in my best shape yet so to take the victory is especially good,' said Bol. 'A race is never the same as training and it is only my third race of the season... but I am starting to feel the hurdles better every race and getting into race shape. 'It is such a high level at the moment in the hurdles so I am very excited going forward towards the world championships.' AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Duplantis set for Bolt party to celebrate pole vault world record
STOCKHOLM - 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. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Straits Times
Swede Duplantis soars to new pole vault world record with 6.28m jump
Athletics - Diamond League - Stockholm - Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden - June 15, 2025 Sweden's Armand Duplantis with Usain Bolt before the competition Jonas Ekstromer/TT News Agency via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. SWEDEN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SWEDEN. STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Armand Duplantis soared 6.28 metres to break the world pole vault record at the Diamond League event in Stockholm on Sunday, the 12th time he has set a new world-best mark. The American-born double Olympic champion improved on his previous record, set in February, by one centimetre on his first attempt, making the most of the perfect conditions to delight the home crowd. Having promised fans ahead of the competition that he would try to break the record, Duplantis encouraged the crowd to get behind him from the moment his name was announced at the Swedish capital's Olympic stadium and they responded by wildly clapping and cheering his every attempt as he cruised through the competition. Kurtis Marschall did his best to put it up to the hometown favourite, but the Australian could only manage a best effort of 5.90 before making three unsuccessful attempts to clear the six-metre mark. That left the field clear for Duplantis as the bar was raised to 6.28 for his world record attempt, and once again, the 25-year-old made it look easy. He powered through his run-up before planting his pole and soaring to another world record as the stadium, built for the 1912 Olympics, exploded in jubilation. Duplantis sprinted from the landing mat, tearing off his singlet to celebrate his first world record set on Swedish soil with his partner and family. "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,' he said. "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)," an emotional Duplantis added. Despite the confident impression he gave as he sailed over the bar, Duplantis said he was not convinced he had cleared it until his back hit the mat. "I almost couldn't believe it, it felt like the very first time I broke the record. For me, I'm still a little hazy in my mind, it feels unreal, I'm just so happy, it's a cloud nine feeling. It's hard to explain, it's hard to compare, it felt a bit like the Olympics," he said. In the women's 400m hurdles, Dutch athlete Femke Bol blazed away over the last 100 metres to win in a season-best time for her of 52.11 seconds, eight-tenths of a second ahead of American Dalilah Muhammad, who came second. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
