1677422261 Armand Duplantis Olympic gold medalist breaks world record in pole

Armand Duplantis: Olympic gold medalist breaks world record in pole vault for sixth time – CNN

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He may only be 23 years old, but Armand Duplantis is already a sporting great.

The Swedish athlete, who is already an Olympic, world and European champion, has gotten used to breaking world records as well.

And he did so again on Saturday, breaking the pole vault word record for the sixth time at the All Star Perche 2023 event in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

Duplantis added an inch to the world record of 6.21m he previously set at the World Championships in Oregon last year.

He set the new world record of 6.22m on his third attempt after hitting the bar on his previous two attempts.

As he landed on the mat and the crowd cheered, sparklers exploded in that historic moment and Duplantis was hugged by 2012 Olympic Games gold medalist and tournament organizer Renaud Lavillenie, who ran with Duplantis to the celebration.

Duplantis first broke the world record when, in February 2020, he surpassed Lavillenie’s world record of 6.17m, set by the Frenchman in 2014.

Over the next two years, he broke his own record four more times before celebrating momentous success on Saturday.

Duplantis had already won the competition when he cleared 6.01 m, Australia’s Kurtis Marschall was second with 5.91 m.

Duplantis (right) celebrates after setting a new world pole vault record with Lavillenie (left).

It was the 60th time Duplantis has jumped six meters or higher as he continues his dominant career.

Ukrainian pole vault legend Sergey Bubka became the first man to break the six-meter mark in 1985. He held the world record until Lavillenie broke his mark at an event he attended in Bubka’s hometown of Donetsk.