Mondo Duplantis strikes again. The Swedish pole vault phenomenon, who has exhausted all superlatives with world records, once again pushed the limits of his sport with a bar of 6.24m this Saturday, April 20 in Xiamoen.
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Three months before the Paris 2024 Games, already at 6.24 m: in his first summer competition, the Swedish pole vault phenomenon Mondo Duplantis raised his world record by one centimeter during the opening meeting of the Diamond League in Xiamen (China) on Saturday. This is the eighth time that Duplantis (24) has advanced the world record in his discipline since he seized it at the expense of Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie, four years ago, in February 2020. more The last time was in September, in the Diamond League final in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States, the country where he was born.
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The summer season is barely waking up, the Diamond League, the most prestigious meeting circuit in world athletics, has never opened as early as this April 20, “Mondo” makes its first summer outing in Xiamen , and here it is already rising to hitherto unexplored heights. In the Chinese humidity on Saturday evening, Duplantis crossed the bar, raised to 6.24 m on his first attempt, and with a considerable margin of several centimeters.
“ I felt it was within my reach after my 6m jumphe says. Compared to my expectations, my indoor season wasn’t great, so I had this fire in me today. I really wanted to prove to myself that I could do better than that “. Better than that, it was a winter at the highest at 6.05 m in four competitions, still synonymous with world indoor gold at the beginning of March in Glasgow.
Update on the meeting
Earlier in the Chinese competition, neither 5.62 m, nor 5.82 m, nor 6 m stood up to the reigning Olympic champion, double world champion and double European champion. His closest competitor, the American Sam Kendricks, finished 42 centimeters (!) lower. This dazzling performance, moreover from his summer start, only reinforces the Scandinavian pole vaulter’s hyper-favorite status for Olympic gold at the Stade de France in early August. He is now expected next Saturday in Suzhou, for the second Chinese stage of the Diamond League. For a new boost?
The other performance of the day came from Gudaf Tsegay: international multi-medalist from 1,500 m to 10,000 m, the Ethiopian surprised herself by signing the third best time in history over 1,500 m, in 3 min 50 sec 30. Just over a second behind Kenyan Faith Kipyegon’s world record.
In the 100m hurdles, in a gala race, the reigning Olympic champion, the Puerto Rican Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won in 12 sec 45 (wind: -0.2 m/s) ahead of the recent world champion in room, the Bahamian Devynne Charlton (12.49). Frenchwoman Cyréna Samba-Mayela finished third, taking the French record in 12 sec 55.
New queen of the sprint since her world coronation in the 100m last summer, the American Sha’Carri Richardson, afro hairstyle preferred to her flamboyant wigs on Saturday, was surprised by the young Australian Torrie Lewis on the half-lap of track (22.99 versus 22.96, wind: -0.4 m/s).