“It’s hard to believe”

On hand to present the gold medal to Duplantis was the pole vault icon Sergey Bubka. The Swedish 24-year-old is well on his way to completely erasing the legend, who once dominated the sport, from the history books.

Bubka now admits

Now Bubka admits what he really thinks about his successor Mondo and his enormous success.
– He achieved something incredible that has never been achieved before, to become Olympic pole vault champion for the second time and at the same time improve the world record. It is a great achievement that has left its mark on everyone who loves sports. It goes beyond athletics. It will remain one of the highlights of these Olympic Games. It was really something extraordinary from a great champion, he says in an interview with L’Équipe.

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Sergej Bubka managed to break the world record 17 times during his career, going from 5.85 meters to 6.14 meters in ten years. He is incredibly impressed by what Duplantis was able to do in Paris.
– Above all, he managed to handle the psychological test and reconfigure his software to go from championship mode to world record mode. To achieve it in his last attempt! He fought and he succeeded. It’s big! Those who achieve the double in the Olympics are truly super champions. They are unique people. For Mondo, it was what made the difference; his talent, his passion, his will to win and to be the best. He loves sports, he has fun with pole vaulting. Together with his father and mother, they are in a constant search to understand and find what they can do best to improve their results. It is a family that upholds the values ​​of sport, says Bubka in the interview.

Since Armand Duplantis broke the world record for the first time in 2020, he has managed to raise the record another eight times from 6.17 meters to 6.25 meters. But he is far from finished there, Bubka thinks.
– I think he can jump much higher. I think he can reach 6.30 meters, 6.35 meters. Mondo, like me, uses all fiberglass Spirit rods. If you are good technically and physically, there is no limit. Mondo knows how to use them and they really turn into a catapult. You are literally flying, there are no limits. Myself, when I won WC gold in 1997 with 6.02 meters, my upper body was measured. It was 6.50 meters. It is hard to believe, but it is something that makes us believe that the limit is far from being reached, says the legend to the French newspaper.

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