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ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Mondo Armand Duplantis keeps breaking his pole vault world record by a single centimetre, but why?
Armand Duplantis, the Swedish pole vault king, may have the most apt nickname in all sport. The 25-year-old American-born athlete was nicknamed "Mondo" at a young age by a family friend. Mondo, for those who don't know, means "world" in Italian. I told you it was appropriate. In Sweden this week, for the 12th time in his career since February 2020, Duplantis has raised the bar on the pole vault world record, vaulting to 6.28m. For breaking the world record in an official World Athletics event, Duplantis can expect to pocket anything between $US50,000 ($76,000) and $US100,000 ($152,000) from the governing body each time — something that certainly adds up. It's not bad work if you can get it and, for Duplantis, getting the chance to break the world record is work that he can seemingly get very, very regularly. And there's no telling how far he can go, either. On each occasion Duplantis has broken the world record, he has raised the bar by just a single centimetre. Duplantis is, without question, an athlete of extraordinary ability. Nobody who saw his magical Olympic gold medal in Paris, where he (again) broke the world record by a single centimetre, can be in any doubt of how special he is. And it is that combination of his extraordinary talent, his chosen event's near-unique way of setting concrete targets in competition and, ironically, a lack of competition from his rivals, that allows him to continually raise the bar at such gradual increments. Pole vaulters, as well as high jumpers, can literally set the bar at what height they want to clear. The same cannot be said of long jumpers, throwers or runners. The high jumpers' lot is to compete largely against their own ability to clear the bar. The other defining aspect of the sport is that a pole vaulter is not done until they knock the bar down three times in succession. That means, in theory, they can send the bar up to increasingly dizzying heights for as long as they can. Let's take the Stockholm Diamond League meet as an example. In Stockholm, officials set the bar at an initial height of 5.45 metres, which six of the nine men in the field attempted and cleared. The other three, including Duplantis, did not attempt at that height, opting instead to come in at the next height, which was set at 5.60m. From that point on, the bar was raised by 10cm at a time, with two men failing to clear 5.70m, three men failing at 5.80m and two more failing to clear 5.90m, leaving just Duplantis and Australian Kurtis Marschall in the competition. Duplantis cleared 6.00m at the first attempt, while Marschall failed three times, knocking him out of the competition. However, Duplantis was not done, saying afterwards that "one of my biggest goals and dreams, [was] to set a world record here at Stadion." "I really wanted to do it, I had my whole family here, from both sides. "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." So Duplantis told officials to raise the bar to 6.28m, 1cm higher than his previous world record, which he then cleared. That 38cm winning margin is not that unusual for Duplantis. He won the Olympic Games in Paris by a full 30cm from American Sam Kendricks. Not in the slightest. Ukrainian/Soviet vaulter Sergey Bubka made breaking his own world record an art throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Between 1984 and 1994, Bubka broke the world record a whopping 17 times outdoors, 10 times by just a single centimetre, raising the bar from 5.85m to 6.14m. He also broke the world indoor record 18 times in that same period, and on only three of those occasions did he break it by more than a single centimetre. So dominant was Bubka that no sponsors were willing to cough up world record bonuses, so Nike incentivised him to the tune of a reported $US100,000-per-record to keep reaching his ever-increasing heights. As it happens, Duplantis has broken the indoor record six times since 2020, but his latest feat saw him blast past his previous mark by a whopping 5cm. It was a similar story in women's pole vault, where Russian Yelena Isinbayeva set 17 world records between 2003 and 2009, with compatriot Svetlana Feofanova taking it off her twice in that time as well. Despite the world record being broken 19 times in that six-year period, the bar was only raised by 24cm. There are fewer equivalents in high jump, although two-time Olympic champion Romanian Iolanda Balaș broke the women's mark 14 times in the pre-Fosbury Flop era between 1957 and 1961, including 12 times in a row. At the Stade de France during the 2024 Olympic Games, the 60,000 spectators were all, understandably transfixed by Duplantis. Already certain of gold — his second Olympic title — the Swede was hell-bent on continuing to raise the bar. Such is his talent that the Swede seemed to toy with supporters as he attempted 6.25m, the whole stadium clapping in unison before and during his acceleration down the runway before groaning as the bar was knocked down. His breaking of the record seemed inevitable. The two failures could even have been part of the script, this generational talent toying with the supporters' emotions before that one moment of euphoric release when he scaled history and vaulted into immortality. It was his brilliance that was the only thing standing between a magic Games moment and another bland, forgettable contest. There has, since his retirement, been a suggestion that Bubka never truly achieved his full potential as a vaulter, an almost absurd anachronism for a man who so dominated his field. But the critics would argue that Bubka was the definition of a man just coasting, doing the bare minimum to achieve his payday and then moving on — never pushing himself beyond what was necessary. Yes, until that point he was the greatest the world had ever seen, a man whose power and technique in using his equipment vaulted him to heights previously unheard of in the sport. But had he been pushed by a rival, would he have soared even higher? Perhaps we'll feel the same about Duplantis in the future. Every time the Swede has broken the world record he has been streets above the competition — an average of 40cm above in fact. Duplantis has essentially only been competing against himself for close to five years. Since 2020, Duplantis has competed in 93 events. He only failed to win four of them and has not lost since 2023. With next-to-no jeopardy in the overall result, Duplantis's never-ending quest to reach for the stars is arguably all that is keeping people interested.
The Australian
4 hours ago
- The Australian
Formula 1, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Canadian Grand Prix, Martin Brundle
F1 expert Martin Brundle has issued a blunt warning to a 'clumsy' Lando Norris that he will not win the world championship if he keeps having weekends where it 'all falls apart' after his dramatic run-in with Oscar Piastri at the Canadian Grand Prix. The Brit collided with his McLaren teammate Piastri late in Sunday's race in Montreal when the pair were fighting for fourth. After managing to avoid trouble between each other so far this year, Norris admitted fault after running into the rear tyre of Piastri while he attempted to overtake on pit straight and ending up crashing into the concrete barrier, ending his race. Piastri went on to finish fourth and extend his lead in the championship battle to 22 points over his teammate. Brundle said Norris, who has won two races this year in Melbourne and Monaco, seemed to be developing an all-or-nothing pattern at race weekends. Britain's Lando Norris walks away from his car following a collision with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. Picture: Getty While he did not rule Norris out of the title race, he said Piastri boasted greater consistency in his performances and the Brit would need to bring his 'A-game' each race. 'Lando seems to have weekends which are utterly dominant, like Melbourne and Monaco, or it just all falls apart. It was one of those weekends, sadly for him,' Brundle told Sky Sports F1. 'Lando won't win a world championship unless he can stop these weekends happening. It's as simple as that. 'He's got to bring his A-game pretty much all the time, like Max (Verstappen) does. Oscar's much more solid in his delivery week in, week out, much more consistent. 'I find it really confusing that those two different levels of performance. He needs to park one and deliver the other one more often, but there's a long way to go. 'It doesn't mean he's out of the championship at all. But when you look at the turnaround in points from the advantage he came away from Melbourne with, to what he's got now, it's a 45-point swing in that time.' Oscar Piastri and McLaren teammate Lando Norris collided during the closing stages of the Canadian Grand Prix. Norris had commented last week in the lead-in to the Canadian Grand Prix that an on-track clash between the papaya pair was 'inevitable' this year as the title race heated up and the team was prepared for this happening. The team's famous 'papaya rules' have allowed their drivers to race each other, but cleanly without making contact with their teammate. Oscar Piastri sits atop the championship standings despite missing the podium in Canada. Picture: Getty But Brundle said Norris' move on Piastri had been 'clumsy'. 'It was just very clumsy and sort of unnecessary,' Brundle said. 'The rules are, which Lando broke, you race hard, you're both up for the championship, but don't run into each other and only one part of that happened. 'As they've said frequently, it was inevitable. But, it wasn't an inevitable championship clash, was it? They were fighting for fourth and fifth, so there's no point in running into each other. 'It's not the end of the world, far from it, but it's difficult for Lando.' Rebecca Williams Sports reporter Rebecca Williams is a sports reporter for the Herald Sun/News Corp and CODE Sports covering mainly AFL and motorsport. @BecHeraldSun Rebecca Williams
Courier-Mail
4 hours ago
- Courier-Mail
‘Nasty' Oscar Piastri act called out by former world champ
Don't miss out on the headlines from F1. Followed categories will be added to My News. Lando Norris accepted the blame, but outspoken 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve says Oscar Piastri is not entirely without fault for the bundle between the two McLarens in Canada. The dig at the world championship leader is the latest chapter in Villeneuve's book of disdain for Australian drivers after his regular targeting of Daniel Ricciardo. Like his scathing assessments of Ricciardo during the twilight of his F1 career, the Canadian's opinion on the Norris-Piastri incident is sure to raise eyebrows. Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. As the two McLarens hunted a podium place in the dying laps of the Grand Prix won by Mercedes' George Russell, Norris crashed into the back of Piastri after anticipating a gap would open up on the inside of the first turn. The Australian held his line however, Norris lost control, and slammed into the pit wall, wrecking his car and his race with three laps remaining. Piastri drove on unscathed and held on to finish fourth, widening his gap over Norris in the drivers' standings to 22 points as a result. The Brit immediately apologised on the team radio before making the walk of shame back to the garage. Post-race, he reiterated those words to Piastri face-to-face, and then stressed his sorrow once again in his press conference. McLaren CEO Zak Brown thanked Norris publicly for his 'candour', while Piastri said his teammate's willingness to admit his error was a great quality to have. Team principal Andrea Stella, meanwhile, said Norris made a 'misjudgement' that 'should have not happened'. Lando Norris (right) went for a gap that wasn't quite there. Photo: Fox Sports. Lando Norris walks away from his damaged car after a crash. Photo:/AFP. The FIA stewards placed the responsibility for the incident firmly on Norris' shoulders too, slapping him with a redundant five-second time penalty. The views of everyone directly involved contradicted those, however, of Villeneuve, who couldn't resist yet another chance to target an Australian driver. 'The clash between the two McLaren drivers, [it was] easy to point the finger at Norris,' he said. 'He realised too late that Piastri was moving towards the left because he had his nose in the gearbox of Piastri, he didn't realise it and Piastri was edging gradually towards the left. 'He's not supposed to be doing that, it was a little bit nasty, so there will be some talks later inside the team.' Esteemed F1 commentator Martin Brundle was another who reiterated that Norris was at fault, and respected Piastri's tactics. 'Oscar did well to see the first move coming because Lando was a long way behind when he launched it into Turn 10,' he told Sky Sports. 'Lando probably thought he got him because Oscar was at an acute angle into the final chicane and tight and wide. Oscar wasn't being particularly kind to him, but then why should he? Lando seemed to persevere down that left-hand side when it wasn't on. 'I don't think it was anything other than not recognising early enough that it wasn't going to happen, followed by wiping his front wing on his rear tyres. It was just very clumsy and sort of unnecessary.' Fans on social media love pushing the bold claim that Villeneuve — who was once engaged to pop singer Dannii Minogue — holds resentment towards Australians. His comments about Piastri come after whacking Jack Doohan following his crash in practice in Japan earlier this year, as well as his long-running feud with Ricciardo. Things got 'personal' between Villeneuve and Ricciardo at last year's Canadian Grand Prix when the 54-year-old responded to a question on Sky Sports during Friday practice about Ricciardo's future, by asking 'Why is he still in F1?'. Villeneuve went onto torch Ricciardo's whole career even more harshly. 'He was beating a [Sebastian] Vettel that was burnt out, that was trying to invent things with the car to go win and just making a mess of his weekends,' he said. 'Then he was beating for half a season [Max] Verstappen when Verstappen was 18 years old, just starting. 'Then that was it. He stopped beating anyone after that. 'I think his image has kept him in F1 more than his actual results.' After qualifying in fifth that week, Ricciardo then told ESPN that Villeneuve was 'talking s***'. 'I still don't know what he said, but I heard he's been talking s***,' he said. 'But he always does. 'I think he's hit his head a few too many times, I don't know if he plays ice hockey or something. 'I won't give him the time of day, but all those people can suck it.' Australians are not the only ones in the opinionated former driver's sights however, as he also took aim at race officials for denying fans a more exciting finish in Canada. The race ended under a Safety Car because of the McLarens crash, and Villeneuve suggested that a red flag should have been waved instead. 'What could have been, should have been an exciting race, turned into a not-so-exciting race,' he said. 'The end of the race – I mean, the rules allow for red flags so we can have a new start for a two-lap sprint, always exciting, and they decided to have a boring safety car finish. Well, too bad.' McLaren team boss Stella said the team 'appreciated' Norris' response to the crash. With the two drivers vying for world championship honours, there could be more incidents of its kind to come in the remaining 14 races. Stella believes the internal rivalry will only make the team stronger. 'We did appreciate the fact that Lando immediately owned the situation, raised his hand, and took responsibility for the accident,' he said. 'He apologised immediately to the team. He came to apologise to me as team principal in order to apologise to the entire team. 'It's important the way we respond and we react to these situations, which ultimately will be a very important learning point. 'I don't think it's learning from a theoretical point of view, because the principle was already there, but it's learning in terms of experiencing how painful these situations can be, and this will only make us stronger in terms of our internal competition and in terms of the way we go racing.' Originally published as 'Nasty' Oscar Piastri act called out by former world champ
