It has become a habit for the 25-year-old Swedish-American pole vaulter Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis to break the world record, set a new one only to leapfrog it again. Duplantis running it to jump over the 6m bar and then 6.28m in first attempt in front of his home crowd and friends and family as the Stadion was up on its feet. Duplantis admitted that this one wasn't as straightforward as he has done in the past, but as soon as he landed on the mat, he knew he had broken it again, for the 12th time in five years.
In Stockholm, Duplantis bettered his own record of 6.27m he set in February by 1cm and the 25-year-old was pumped up, taking off his shirt, running all over the ground as the crowd egged him on to break the record after he promised them. "This was one of my biggest goals and dreams, to set a world record here at Stadion,” Duplantis said after the run.
“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]," Duplantis added. Duplantis, who was born in the US but competes for Sweden, said that winning on Sunday at home was comparable to the Olympics for him.
"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 added.
Georgia Hunter Bell, the 1500m bronze medallist, won the 800m competition. Paris Diamond League, a few days later on June 20, will feature 800m men's, javelin men's, 3000m women's steeplechase, 5000m men and 1500m women's events among others.