Swedish Olympic champion Armand Duplantis set a new world record in the pole vault by jumping 6.23 m on Sunday during the finals of the Athletics Diamond League in Eugene (Oregon, United States).
At 23, the two-time outdoor world champion broke the world record for the seventh time, which he raised to 6.22 m in February in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
The country stadium of Hayward Field, in the small town of Eugene (north-west), succeeded for this athlete who was born and raised in the United States, in Louisiana: he won his first world champion title there in full swing. air in July 2021 by jumping 6.21 m, then a new record.
After passing 6.02 m, Duplantis took advantage of the perfect conditions in Eugene (sun, around 27 degrees) to clear 6.23 m on his first attempt.
A true prodigy of the discipline, “Mondo”, his nickname, Swedish by his mother, is undefeated in seventeen competitions this season.
Since emerging with a European champion title in Berlin in 2018 at age 18, thanks to a jump of 6.05 m, Duplantis has won three world titles (including one indoor) and Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 After erasing the record of Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie (6.17 m against 6.16 m) in February 2020, he has since improved his record centimeter by centimeter.
The former Louisiana State University (LSU) athlete has always been coached by his parents, having learned his art in the family garden. For several years he has divided his time between his native region and Sweden.