Swedish Olympic champion Armand Duplantis has broken his own world record again, clearing 6.27 metres at the All Star Pole Vault event in Clermont-Ferrand, France, on Friday.
Duplantis, popularly known as “Mondo,” secured his victory by jumping 6.07m before raising the bar to 6.27m, which he cleared on his first attempt.
“I just felt really good,” Duplantis said after the record-breaking jump. “What can I say, I came here to do it. I put everything in place to do it. The run-up worked really well. I just did it.”
The 25-year-old athlete has now broken the pole vault world record 11 times since his first record leap of 6.16m in February 2020.
Duplantis also added a personal touch to his latest achievement by playing his own song, “Bop,” during the record attempt. “That was my song that was playing,” he said. “When I made this song a couple of months ago, I thought this would be a perfect song to jump to here. That’s why I rushed it out.”
Reflecting on the moment, he added, “I thought maybe I wasn’t going to be serious about jumping to my own song. It seemed almost funny to me. But when I heard it on the speakers, I thought it sounded good. It put me in a good frame of mind.”
This is the second time Duplantis has broken the world record at the Clermont-Ferrand event. He previously jumped 6.22m there in February 2023.
On Friday, he faced tough competition from Emmanouil Karalis, the Olympic bronze medallist, who cleared 6.02m but withdrew after experiencing cramps. Duplantis then cleared 6.07m to secure the win before attempting and achieving the new record.
Speaking after the event, Duplantis expressed his love for the competition, saying, “I just love it here. I love the atmosphere here. I jump really well here. Everyone jumps really well here.”
Duplantis is set to compete again on March 13 in Uppsala, Sweden, at an event he is organising. He will then head to the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, scheduled for March 21-23.
When asked about his next goal, Duplantis joked about breaking the 6.30m barrier soon. “28, 29,” he said with a smile.
The pole vault star previously set a record of 6.26m at a Diamond League meeting in Chorzow, Poland, in August 2024, just weeks after winning Olympic gold in Paris with a 6.25m leap.
Duplantis continues to solidify his place in history, thrilling fans with every leap and record.
