Duplantis sets world pole vault record with 6.19m at Belgrade Indoor meet

Olympic champion Armand Mondo Duplantis showed that he’ll be in the form of his life heading into the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in a couple of weeks after he broke his own world pole vault record with a 6.19m clearance at the Belgrade Indoor Meeting on Monday (7). The meeting, which took place at the same venue that will host the World Indoor Championships, is part of the World Indoor Tour Silver level series.

Duplantis, who threatened to break the world record a few times this season and has attempted that height on several occasions over the past two years, finally got his reward on Monday.

Returning to the arena where he cleared an impressive 6.10m last season to set a world-leading mark, the Swede cleared the bar at a new world record on his third and final attempt in Belgrade to improve on his world mark clearance of 6.18m in Glasgow in 2020.

The European 2018 outdoor and 2021 indoor champion opened the competition with a first-time clearance of 5.61m after all of his opponents had already exited the event early. He then navigated over the bar at 5.85m and 6.00m on his first attempts before raising the bar to the familiar targeted height at 6.19m.

After missing on his first two tries, Duplantis successfully cleared the bar, despite nudging the barrier slightly with his knees. He leaped up off the landing mat almost immediately and rushed over to the stands in celebration with his family.

“I think I’ve tried 6.19m 50 times,” said Duplantis to reporters after his success on Monday. “It’s been a long time coming.

“I’ve never had a height that has given me that much trouble, so it’s a very good feeling. It was really hard-fought over these past two years. I’m really happy.”

Duplantis has now set three world records in the men’s pole vault, having achieved the feat 6.17 in Torun in February 2020, and by 6.18m one week later in Glasgow, and now 6.19m in Belgrade.

The 22-year-old will now turn his attention to the 2022 World Indoor Championships to be held from 18-20 March in the Serbian capital.