DUPLANTIS RAISES THE BAR AGAIN WITH 6.30M WORLD RECORD IN TOKYO

By: Gyang Dakwo

Mondo Duplantis is showing no signs of slowing down. The Swedish pole vault star keeps finding new heights whenever he competes, and on Monday night in Tokyo he did it again as he cleared 6.30 metres to set a new world record while defending his world title.

The 25 year old had already secured the gold medal with a vault of 6.15 metres, yet he still asked for more. On his third attempt he soared over 6.30 metres, and that made it the 14th world record of his career in a sport he has completely owned.

But it was not only the jump that thrilled the crowd, it was the way he celebrated. Duplantis bounced off the mat, sprinted around the track, and jumped into the stands. He kissed his partner, hugged his parents, and waved the Swedish flag as the packed stadium roared. His rivals joined him in the moment, gathering around in respect for an athlete who keeps rewriting what is possible.

This is another page in a journey that started when Duplantis was just a boy vaulting in his family’s backyard in Louisiana. He broke records as a youngster, then won Olympic and World Championship titles, and now pole vaulting feels like his personal stage. Each new record no longer feels like a matter of if, but when.

Behind him in Tokyo, Emmanouil Karalis of Greece won silver with 6.00 metres, while Australia’s Kurtis Marschall set a personal best of 5.95 metres to take bronze on countback ahead of American Sam Kendricks.

Yet once again, the spotlight stayed with Duplantis, who keeps raising the bar in every sense and leaves the world wondering just how much higher he can go.