PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Armand Duplantis won Olympic gold in Tokyo, but it was not a competition record.
Now he reveals why.
– I was more or less blown away in Tokyo, says Mondo to Expressen.
This year’s athletics season recently came to an end. Now holidays and pre-season await the athletes, including Armand Duplantis23. The pole vaulter has a fine season to look back on, including WC gold and a new world record of 6.23 meters a few weeks later.
Mondo’s goal in the Olympics
2021 wasn’t a bad year for Mondo either. Then the Olympics were held in Tokyo, which were supposed to take place in 2020 but were postponed due to the corona pandemic. Duplantis took Olympic gold in the pole vault, and he “only” needed to jump 6.02 to win. But the Olympic record stands at 6.03 and is held by those suspended for doping Thiago Braz. The Olympic record is therefore not yet Armand’s.
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That race record is the only major record that Mondo now lacks, and will be a big target next summer when the Paris Olympics get underway.
– I have achieved so much in my career, but one thing that remains is to break the Olympic record. It’s the only thing I haven’t done in this sport yet. I have broken world records, but to have the Olympic record would be really special for me, he says in an interview with his sponsor Eton Shirts.
Duplanti’s Discontent
Duplantis believes that no Olympic record was broken in Tokyo was the organizer’s fault.
– I was more or less blown away in Tokyo, because the lifting schedule did not meet the Olympic record, he tells Expressen.
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The raising schedule went 5.92, 5.97 and 6.02, and Mondo thus did not get up to 6.03.
– It’s like the first time in history that it didn’t. It’s absolutely crazy and the dumbest thing ever.
– But otherwise, championship records, or competition records, are special to me. Most of the competitions I take part in nowadays often have a very long history and then it feels extra special to be the person who holds the competition record, he says to the evening newspaper.
READ MORE: Armand Duplanti’s fine words – now pleading for change after the horror figures about the Swedes: “It’s terrible”
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