Duplantis raises his pole vault world record to 6.31m

Sweden's Armand Duplantis added another centimeter to his own pole vault world record, clearing 6.31 meters to win at the Mondo Classic, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting, in Uppsala on Thursday.

Armand Duplantis of Sweden reacts during the men's pole vault final of Athletics at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 5, 2024. (Xinhua/Song Yanhua)

The 26-year-old reigning Olympic and world champion opened with 5.65m and then cleared 5.90m and 6.08m, all on his first attempt, to seal victory. He then raised the bar to 6.31m and cleared it at the first try.

Norway's Sondre Guttormsen finished second with 6.00m, followed by American Zachery Bradford on 5.90m.

"If you come to Sweden to compete against me, it will be even harder to beat me," said Duplantis. "There are a lot of emotions right now. There was a little extra pressure because I want to perform in a different way. Setting a world record here was actually incredible."

It was the 15th time Duplantis had improved the world record since first setting it in 2020 with a clearance of 6.17m. He had set the previous mark of 6.30m at the World Championships in Tokyo last September.