Armand Duplantis’ pole vault broke his own world record at the encounter in Belgrade by an inch. In the hall, which will host the World Cup in two weeks, he crossed the bar at a height of 619 centimeters at the third attempt. The 22-year-old Swede set a new all-time record two years after the one he also set in the Glasgow lobby.
The Olympic champion from Tokyo is racing for the fifth time this indoor season. In his four previous starts, he has always crossed the six-metre mark, hitting a high of 605 centimeters on February 19 in Birmingham. He had a solo appearance in Belgrade. When he started at 561 centimeters, there was no opponent left in the competition. He climbed the base height for the first time and then 585 centimeters and six meters. Subsequently, he was raised to record heights and succeeded at the third attempt.
He struck not only altitude records this indoor season. “I think I’ve tried 619 about fifty times. It’s been a really long time. I’ve never had a height that would cause me so much trouble. It’s been a really tough fight in the last two years. I’m really happy, ” said the international athletics federation in a press release.
There is one general world record in the pole vault. Duplantis held the best form outside, when in the summer of 2020 he lost this lead to Ukraine’s Sergei Bubka by 615 centimeters. In Belgrade, Duplantis was well adjusted to the fight for the indoor world title, which he does not have in his collection of achievements. When the last Indoor World Championships took place four years ago, Duplantis finished seventh in Birmingham.
Czech hurdles Petr Svoboda also won in Belgrade, finishing in 7.65 seconds. He managed to test the hall where he won the European bronze five years ago. But for a coveted time of around 7.55 seconds, he was missing something again. His season maximum remains 7.63 from Saturday’s start at the national championship in Ostrava.
Long-distance Olympic winner Miltiadis Tentoglu from Greece takes second place in the world table this year with today’s winning performance of 825 centimeters. American Matthew Boling jumped the same distance this year in the halls, and Swiss multi-champion Simon Ehammer was even an inch better. Thobias Montler, a Swede, was just two centimeters worse than Tentoglu in Belgrade today.
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