File: Armand Duplantis from Sweden in action in men's pole vault competition at the World Athletics Indoor Tour: Lievin in Lievin, France, February 20, 2020. /VCG
File: Armand Duplantis from Sweden in action in men's pole vault competition at the World Athletics Indoor Tour: Lievin in Lievin, France, February 20, 2020. /VCG
Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis impressed the world again on Sunday. Though he failed to reach 6.19 meters, the 20-year-old again cleared 6.01 meters and won the title at the indoor meeting in Clermont Ferrand in central France.
It is the fifth time that Duplantis has soared six meters or above – 6.00 in Dusseldorf, 6.01 in Clermont Ferrand, 6.07 in Lievin, 6.17 in Torun and 6.18 in Glasgow. No one has ever done that before in pole vault history.
What Duplantis did was both amazing and predictable because that's how great he has been. On February 8, he broke the world record of 6.16 meters set by Renaud Lavillenie at a World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting in Torun in Poland. In his sixth attempt, the Swedish young man reached 6.17 meters.
"It's something that I wanted since I was three years old. It's a big year, but it's a good way to start it," said Duplantis.
Armand Duplantis from Sweden shows his check for breaking the pole vault world record at the Muller Grand Prix on the World Athletics Indoor Tour in Glasgow, Scotland, February 15, 2020. /VCG
Armand Duplantis from Sweden shows his check for breaking the pole vault world record at the Muller Grand Prix on the World Athletics Indoor Tour in Glasgow, Scotland, February 15, 2020. /VCG
A week later in Glasgow, when everybody was talking about how remarkable Duplantis is, he refreshed his own world record by soaring 6.18 meters at the Muller Grand Prix on the World Athletics Indoor Tour.
"This was such a great competition. There was such great energy the crowd was giving me and I really thrive off of that," said Duplantis after the competition.
The meeting in Clermont Ferrand was his second attempt in five days to go for 6.19 meters. Though he failed at both meetings, Duplantis has shown unlimited potential and many argue that he may be the Usain Bolt of the pole vault world.