At the age of 22, Armand Duplantis is a world record holder, European champion and Olympic champion, but he lacks a world championship. That’s the only thing he’s after in Eugene.
24.7.•Updated 24.7.
Three years ago, only 19 years old at the World Championships in Doha Armand Duplantis was extremely close to winning the pole vault world championship. Eight years older than the United States Sam Kendricks however, took the world championship away from the Swedish-American’s top promise thanks to a better series.
Duplantis assured at the time that the silver medal was satisfying, because he knew he had given everything he had one hundred percent. Now, from the World Championships in Oregon, only the world championship is good for him.
At the latest, after the World Championships in Doha, the Armand Duplantis era began in the men’s pole vault, because in the following season he went from victory to victory. After 23 straight wins, Duplantis faced his winner Sam Kendricks again in the windy conditions of the Gateshead Diamond League.
But even though there was success in the games, Duplantis didn’t know how to take pole vaulting seriously enough.
– In 2019, I didn’t always like my own attitude, Duplantis admitted in an interview with the Swedish public radio company SVT.
Duplantis had just turned professional at that time. He had previously attended Louisiana State University and competed mostly in the NCAA, so the change to the Diamond League circuit was big.
– It was real work and the difference to what it had been before was so big. I didn’t know how to approach it as a real job. I just thought of it as pole vaulting, Duplantis said and assured:
– I have improved a lot!
How does the American public react?
Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Duplantis faces a strange situation at the World Championships in Oregon, as the World Championships are held in the mecca of track and field. The jumper, who lived and studied in the United States, is a clear early favorite in the pole vault competition, but he will still compete in the colors of Sweden.
Americans can be very passionate about things at times, so Duplantis isn’t entirely sure how viewers will react to him. He has told before (you switch to another service) that he even faced hatred because he chose Sweden and not the United States.
– It’s a situation I can’t control. Maybe they’ll boo me, who knows? he chuckled.
– If they boo me, I can only get more motivation from it. But I have no idea what could happen. I’m just trying to jump high.
The Swedish Sports Federation, interested in the super promise, was on the move in time, and discussions with both the family and the jumper quickly brought results. In addition, Armand’s older brother who competed in pole vaulting Andreas had made the same choice before and had been very satisfied with this.
One important reason for Duplantis’ decision was also the appreciation of the sport. In Louisiana, only a fraction is interested in athletics, while in Europe and Sweden, Duplantis had a good chance to become the star he is today.
But the Swedes haven’t always praised Duplantis either. In the early days of his career, Duplantis did not want to give interviews in Swedish, but preferred to speak in English. This caused an uproar in Sweden, but now the situation has changed.
During the last couple of years, at the urging of his mother, Duplantis has studied Swedish diligently and dares to use the language in public as well. He doesn’t always remember all the Swedish words in interviews, but he doesn’t let this stop him.
– I feel proud to represent Sweden and I intend to represent Sweden throughout my racing career, he assured.
Life goes on, good or bad
There is really only one early favorite in the men’s pole vault final: Armand Duplantis. However, Duplantis refuses to think about the pressure, because he is already used to it.
– This isn’t the first time I’ve been the biggest early favorite, he smiled.
– I try not to think too much. I do what I usually do. It’s pole vaulting, so I go pole vaulting. Everything goes at its own pace. I feel pretty good about myself, and there is no pressure here like there was at the Olympics, for example.
If the pressure has piled up too much during the season, Duplantis has done something else, like playing golf. He emphasizes balance in everything and admits that at times he too has had difficulties. The last two years have been good for him.
– However, there have been moments when I have realized that pole vaulting is not everything in life and there is much more than just pole vaulting. Of course I want to win and perform well, but life goes on, whether I jump very well or badly.
Although Duplantis seems really relaxed both in competitions and outside of them, he assures that he is sometimes stressed by competitions, among other things. The day before or the morning of the race, he might be nervous, but the tension disappears as soon as he gets to the race venue.
– When I’m in the race, at the end of the track, I don’t get nervous at all. Then it’s just pole vaulting again. I’ve been doing it long enough to know what it is.
Ready to be a world champion
During his career, Duplantis has jumped many youth world records and has recently improved the world record for adults in indoor competitions. Duplantis first claimed the ME two and a half years ago when he jumped 617. Since then, he has managed to cage it up to 620 centimeter at a time.
In his career, the only 22-year-old jumping prodigy has already won the youth European and world championships, the adult European championship on both outdoor and indoor tracks, Olympic gold and the indoor world championship.
However, one title is missing from Armand Duplantis: the adult world championship on outdoor tracks. Therefore, it is not difficult to guess what he will answer to the question “What else do you dream about?”
– World Championship gold. I want to win everything that I can win as a pole vaulter. I haven’t won the World Championship gold yet, so that’s the most important thing for me.
Duplantis did not use a lot of energy in the pole vault, as he jumped only two jumps: 565 and 575 were easily exceeded on the first attempts. Those jumps told Duplantis that he was ready for the closing day finals.
– I really want to be world champion. It’s something I really want and I feel like I’m ready. Now I just have to jump as well as I can, he said in an interview with Urheilu.
This season, Duplantis has jumped 16 centimeters higher than the world number two Chris Nilsen and more than 20 cents higher than the third in the world ranking Thiago Braz. However, Duplantis does not let the statistics fool him, because he knows the sensitivity of the sport.
– I know that I have good competitors against me. I cannot underestimate what they are capable of. But I know if I jump like I can I should be good.
Duplantis doesn’t want to think about how high he can jump in the future, because he has already crossed so many heights. Even in the World Cup finals, he doesn’t want to be the first to think about how high he could jump.
– I am mostly interested in the world championship. If I can jump high, I will jump high. But above all I just want to win!
The men’s pole vault final is scheduled for Monday at 3:25 Finnish time.
Armand Duplantis was interviewed by Therese Bo for SVT and Petra Manner for Urheilu.