Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Olympic pole vault winner Armand Duplantis adds to his legacy, and his bank account, one centimeter at a time
As Monday’s competition at Stade de France wound down there was one final matter to be decided, and one competitor with every set of eyes upon him. Having already captured gold in the pole vault — defending his title from the Tokyo Olympics — Armand “Mondo” Duplantis had one final attempt at 6.25 meters, a height that would break his own world record.
With over 70,000 spectators clapping in unison, urged on by Duplantis himself, and the two athletes who would join him on the podium acting as his hypemen, Duplantis rocketed down the runway and propelled himself skyward.
And into the record books once more:
As he crashed back to Earth Duplantis began to celebrate, pumping his right arm as he knew yet another world record was his. The crowd at Stade de France roared to life, and the Swedish athlete roared himself at his accomplishment. Duplantis then sprinted over towards his family and loved ones in the stands, before taking victory laps with American silver medalist Sam Kendricks, and bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis from Greece:
Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images
Then it was time for the obligatory photo by the record, not the first time Duplantis has posed for such a picture:
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
This is now the ninth new world record set by Duplantis, who first broke the world record back in 2020 with a vault of 6.17 meters at a meet in Poland. Since then Duplantis has continually bested his previous world record by one centimeter at a time. In April of this year, he set the mark of 6.24 meters at a meet in China, and then on Monday it was time for the mark of 6.25, which he achieved on his third attempt, with gold already in his hand.
And there may be a brilliant financial reason behind this strategy.
As noted by the Wall Street Journal on Monday, with each new world record comes a significant financial bonus, between $30,000 and $100,000 depending on the event.
So when Duplantis sets his eyes on his next world record, do not be surprised if the attempt comes in at 6.26 meters.
