Armand Duplantis won Finnkamppen’s pole vault.
At the same time, he sends a request to the competition.
– I do not scold the practitioners who are not involved, he says.
It was not exactly a shock that Armand Duplantis, the best pole vaulter of all time, won Finnkampen’s pole vault on Sunday. Mondo had not competed in Finnkampen since 2019, and there is an explanation for that. Recently, many critical voices have been raised about the competition, that it has lost its status.
The criticism against Finnkampen
During the weekend’s competitions at Stockholm Stadium, many familiar names were missing. Thobias Montler was forced to cancel his participation, admittedly due to injury, but in Finland Viivi Lehikoinen, 400m hurdles, and Heta Tuuri, high jump, chose instead to compete in the Diamond League competition in China.
And Armand Duplantis fully understands that.
– I don’t want to scold any practitioner who doesn’t listen. I understand that you don’t show up here, because it’s not entirely easy, says Mondo, who won the competition already in his first jump, but then couldn’t beat Finnkamp’s record of 6.01, to Iltalehti.
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“Hardest time”
Armand Duplantis simply believes that the Finnkampen is poorly scheduled. Mondo himself competed in the WC last weekend in August, and just days after that was the Diamond League in Zurich.
– Finnkampen is at the most difficult and tightest time of the entire season. Just at the end of the season, the biggest competitions remain, and the Finnkampen is squeezed in between, he says.
Armand Duplantis has had some problems with a thigh during the summer, but did not have to exert himself too much to win the Finnkampen. However, he failed to set a new record for Finnkampen, but was still satisfied.
– I couldn’t do more. I don’t know how much more was in the body, he says.
At the same time, Mondo praised the atmosphere at Finnkampen.
– It’s nice to compete here. It’s more than just a regular competition. You won’t find a competition like this anywhere else.
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