Tokyo: Armand “Mondo” Duplantis broke the pole vault world record for the 14th time Monday, clearing 6.30 meters to capture his third World Championship.
Duplantis, who grew up in Louisiana but competes for his mother’s native Sweden, easily won his 49th straight meet and fifth straight major title, including Olympics, then kept the crowd around for another drama-rich half-hour to watch him go for the record.
He cleared his top height (20 feet, 8 inches) on his third and final try -- the bar still bouncing but not falling as he leaped off the mat and jumped into second-place finisher Emmanouil Karalis’ arms to start the celebration.
Duplantis gets $70,000 for the victory plus a $100,000 bonus for setting the record at the world championships. The jam-packed stadium that stuck around for his finale gets a great memory. “To give you guys this moment, it’s just amazing,” Duplantis said in an in-stadium interview.
The 25-year-old first broke the record on Feb. 8, 2020, clearing 6.17 meters and knocking France’s 2012 Olympic champion, Renaud Lavillenie, off the top spot.