Pole Vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis Break the 26- year old Record

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The 20 years old Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis also nicknamed as “Mondo” has broken the 26-year old outdoor world pole vault record. Duplantis has pole-vaulted history with a new world record of 6.15m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rome on 17th September 2020.

 

In the country where “Mondo” means the world, Duplantis achieved the status of the world greatest vaulted besting Bubka’s mark of 6.14 meters (20 feet, 1 1/2 inches) set in Sestriere in July 1994. Sergey Bubka’s record has been untouched for 26 years and breaking that in his second attempt, Duplantis has paved his way.

 

He already holds the world indoor record of 6.18m set in Glasgow in February, but setting up a new outdoor record, the Swede player felt a surreal feeling.

 

“You feel like you're dreaming a bit. It's a surreal, super crazy feeling. You hit the mat but you're still up in the clouds” – said the US-born athlete. 

 

Duplantis stated that breaking the record was essential for him as there is the same record for both indoor and outdoor. He made the outdoor mark his goal with the Olympic Games and European championships postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

 

“There’s a lot of confusion because the pole vault is the only event which has one world record for both indoors and outdoors,” said Duplantis. “I wanted the outdoor world best at 6.15 so there would no longer be any confusion. I now have the best jumps indoors & outdoors.”

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"Mondo Duplantis” who was born and raised in Louisiana won gold as a 15-years-old in the boys’ pole vault at the 2015 World Youth Championships. The son of an American pole vaulter who grew up with a pole vault pit in his garden with a Swedish mom, Duplantis at the age of 17 had already cleared 5.90m. As a child prodigy, he chose to compete internationally for Sweden, his mother’s home country. He won the silver medal at last year’s championships.

His performance in 2020, Diamond League has been exceptionally great.

 Mondo Duplantis in the 2020 Diamond League:

5.86m – Oslo  

 

6.00m – Monaco 

 

6.01m – Stockholm 

 

6.07m – Lausanne 

 

6.00m – Brussels 

 

6.15m – Rome 

After clearing 6.15m in Rome, Duplantis has proven he is the best pole vaulter in history both indoors and out. His ambitions are now to win the World and Olympic titles.