Armand Duplantis has once again broken the world pole vault record at the Silesia Diamond League. On Sunday, he cleared 6.26 meters on his second try, surpassing his previous record of 6.25 meters set after winning gold at the Paris Olympics 2024. This is the 10th time he has broken the world record in his career. In the competition in Poland, he also cleared 6.26 meters to win, while his competitors cleared 6.00 meters.
After his impressive performance, Duplantis told Reuters, “This year I focused on the Olympics, the record just came naturally because I was in good shape. So I am not surprised with the record today, but I am thankful.” He also said, “It almost feels weird and unnatural to get so much love and support from the crowds when I compete. I see that especially in Poland. The energy in this stadium just keeps getting better every year. My first world record also came in Poland, indoors in Torun (in 2020), so I have great memories from here.”
In the Silesia competition, Sam Kendricks from the USA, who won silver at the Paris Olympics, jumped 6.00 meters but couldn’t clear 6.08 meters and finished in second place. Emmanouil Karalis from Greece, who won bronze at the Paris Olympics, came in third.
Duplantis was born in 1999 in Louisiana to an American pole vaulter father and a Swedish long jumper mother. He represents Sweden and won the U-18 title in 2015 when he was just 15. He has continued to excel in his career since then.
Here is the timeline of Duplantis’ 10 world records:
Highlights from Paris Olympics 2024
At the Paris Olympics, held at Stade de France, Duplantis thrilled the crowd by clearing 6.25 meters. After setting the record, he ran to his girlfriend in the stands. He remarked, “It’s hard to understand, honestly.” He also said, “If I don’t beat this moment in my career, then I’m pretty OK with that. I don’t think you can get much better than what just happened.”
Following the Olympics, Duplantis took a vacation in Greece. He praised the Paris crowd, saying, “I tried to clear my thoughts as much as I could. The crowd was going crazy. It was so loud in there, it sounded like an American football game. I have a little bit of experience being in a 100,000-capacity stadium, but I was never the centre of attention. [I was] just trying to channel the energy everybody was giving me, and they were giving me a lot of it. It worked out.”
