Armand Duplantis won in Stockholm – despite the worst possible conditions.
Now he reveals the great anger towards the organizer.
– We could have died, he says.
Armand Duplantis won – as usual – when the Diamond League competitions came to Stockholm yesterday. But it wasn’t just any competition, and perhaps that made Duplanti’s victory all the more impressive. It wasn’t a new world record, but Mondo impressed in other ways.
Heavy conditions
There was heavy rain throughout Sunday, and for two hours the pole vault had to be postponed. Duplantis didn’t have a single rip until 5.95, and already there he had won the competition. This despite the fact that he was forced to wait a long time, that it was cold in the air – and really wet.
Armand Duplantis even managed 6.05 in the heavy conditions, and the jump was so good that many thought he had a new world record in him. But with the rain, the cold – and also the wind, Mondo was forced to give up after two attempts. Armand Duplantis revealed afterwards how difficult it was with the conditions.
– It was chaos. They told us that we have to start at the appointed time, he tells Expressen.
READ MORE: Armand Duplanti’s bold promise – now wants to write powerful sports history: “I would have loved it”
“Could have died”
But then Duplantis and his colleagues said no.
– We would have died if we had jumped then. We saw on the phone that it was going to stop raining and decided together to wait. It was impossible for us to jump in that weather, he says.
Armand Duplantis says that the worst-case scenario would have been for the jumpers to actually die. He continues:
– It could have happened. It’s just not worth it. At the same time, we are all competitive people and want to compete. It was good that we waited.
READ MORE: Armand Duplanti’s shock at the Swedes’ behavior – now reveals the big culture clash: “Didn’t understand anything”