Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports/Portal
Armand Duplantis celebrates his latest world record at Eugene’s Hayward Field.
CNN –
Armand Duplantis reached seventh heaven at the Diamond League finals on Sunday when he broke the pole vault world record again.
After clearing six meters, 23 centimeters – the seventh time in his career he had broken the world record – Duplantis jumped off the landing mat and celebrated by running across the stands and putting his arms in the air.
It was the second of two world records set at Sunday’s season-ending meet in Eugene, Oregon. Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay also broke the women’s 5,000 meter record with a time of 14 minutes and 0.21 seconds.
Swede Duplantis needed just one attempt to reach 6.23m – a centimeter higher than his own record, which he set in France earlier this year. His legs scraped the pole on the way there, causing it to wobble but stay in place.
The 23-year-old’s historic jump put him in second place, well ahead of Filipino Ernest John Obiena, who managed 5.82 m.
Steve Dipaola/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Duplantis clears 6.23 m at Hayward Field – the seventh time he has broken the world record.
“I’m usually really excited about these world records because they feel good. What else can you really say?” Duplantis, who also set a record at Hayward Field last year, told reporters. “It was a crazy way to end the year, I’ve never had a finish like that.”
He added: “I hope that by the end of my career I will definitely have the bar up, which I think is the highest I’ve ever been able to achieve.”
Earlier, Tsegay beat the women’s 5,000m record, previously set by Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon in June, by almost five seconds.
Tsegay, who was crowned 10,000m world champion earlier this year, edged out Beatrice Chebet in the final stages.
Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports/Portal
Tsegay leads the women’s 5,000-meter run in Eugene.
With her face contorted in pain and wanted by the crowd, she narrowly missed breaking the 14-minute mark as she crossed the finish line and collapsed to the ground. Chebet finished second in 14:05.92 – the third fastest time in history.
Tsegay’s achievement means the women’s 5000m record has been cut by almost 11 seconds in the last three years.