LONDON (18 July) — Mondo Duplantis, the world record holder in pole vault, left London’s Diamond League meet Saturday with a thigh strain — ending his competition after clearing 5.95m and finishing second.
Duplantis cleared 5.60m on his opening attempt, then got over 5.95m after missing and passing at 5.85m. After what seem to have been a lengthy conversation with his father and manager on the sideline, he chose not to risk further injury and withdrew from the competition with the European Championships in sight.
Sam Kendricks of the United States won the event at 5.95m in the same stadium where he claimed his first world title in 2017. The two-time world champion edged out the field on the evening.
Australia’s Kurtis Marschall took third with the same 5.95m clearance. Both Kendricks and Marschall failed to clear 6.04m, with Kendricks taking the win by virtue of the earlier jump-off result.
In the women’s high jump, Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers beat world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine in a tiebreaker. Both cleared 2.01m but failed at 2.03m, giving Olyslagers the win on countback.
The loss was Mahuchikh’s first of the season. Olyslagers is the reigning world champion and a two-time world indoor champion.
