Duplantis sets record, wins third straight pole vault

Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, 25, nicknamed the “human bird,” set his 14th career world record and secured a third consecutive world championship title.

Duplantis cleared 6.30 meters in the men’s pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships on Sept. 15 at Tokyo’s National Stadium, breaking his own world record of 6.29 meters set last month at the Hungary Grand Prix. His vault was nearly 30 centimeters higher than second-place finisher Emanuel Karalis of Greece, 25, who cleared 6.00 meters.

Duplantis’ three-peat at the world championships is the first since Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka, the original “human bird,” won six consecutive titles from 1983 in Helsinki to 1997 in Athens. With this victory, Duplantis extended his winning streak in international competitions to 36.

Four years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, Duplantis competed in an empty stadium due to COVID-19 restrictions. He won the gold medal with a 6.02-meter vault, a somewhat underwhelming mark compared with his standards.

This time, he broke the world record before a full house of 53,000 spectators. During the competition, Duplantis entertained fans by mimicking the batting stance of Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki, saying, “Sharing this world record moment with the crowd made the day even more special.”


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com