by sportswriters Wang Zijiang and Yue Chenxing
TOKYO, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) — He jumped. He shouted. He opened his arms to the roar of greater than 50,000 followers inside Tokyo’s National Stadium on a damp Monday evening.
Armand Duplantis gained once more. And as soon as extra, he broke the world file. It was the 14th time the Swede has rewritten the lads’s pole vault world mark since February 2022, when it stood at “just” 6.17 meters.
The world title itself had come simply. Duplantis secured gold with a flawless first-attempt clearance at 6.15 meters, after crusing cleanly over 5.75, 5.85, 5.95, 6.00 and 6.10. But the file top was a special story.
“I am so happy, I cannot explain it,” Duplantis mentioned. “I felt the only way to leave Japan was to set the world record.”
Each failed try solely appeared to gas his confidence. On the primary attempt, he almost cleared the bar; on the second, it wobbled however held till the final prompt earlier than falling. Finally, on his third try, Duplantis soared over 6.30 meters — one centimeter increased than the mark he had set simply 27 days earlier.
“That was my mentality,” he defined. “I knew I had the record in me. As soon as I take off — from the transition from the ground through the air — I know if the jump is going to be valid. I know if I’ve transferred enough energy, or if it’s not really going to work out.”
At simply 25, Duplantis has already gained all the pieces. Four years in the past, on the similar Tokyo stadium however in entrance of empty seats because of the pandemic, he claimed Olympic gold. Since then, he has captured world titles in Eugene and Budapest, a second Olympic crown in Paris, and now one other World Championship triumph — every time pushing the file increased.
This evening in Tokyo additional cemented his legacy as the game’s best, with the ambiance matching his efficiency.
“I am proud of myself for winning the World Championships when it mattered most. Setting the world record is a bonus,” he mentioned. “I guess there is no limit for me. Maybe I’m the one to find out what the limit in pole vault really is. Today was pretty much a dream competition.”
The gulf between Duplantis and the remainder of the sector was stark. Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis claimed silver at 6.00 meters, whereas Australia’s Kurtis Marschall earned bronze on countback at 5.95. France’s Renaud Lavillenie, the 2012 Olympic champion and former world file holder, completed eighth with 5.75.
For Marschall, additionally a bronze medalist two years in the past in Budapest, being a part of the second was an honor in itself. “It was an amazing night,” he mentioned. “I believe it was the highest-level competition in history.”