Armand Duplantis, the 20-year-old who was born in the United States but chose to represent his mother’s native country of Sweden, broke the pole vault world record for the second time in a week when he cleared 6.18m at the Indoor Grand Prix in Glasgow on Saturday (15th).
A former child phenomenon, he holds world records at every age level from under 7 to under 12, while by 18 he had already cleared 6 meters.
Sergey Bubka, a former Ukraine pole vaulting legend and perhaps the most recognizable former star in the event, said Duplantis “really makes athletics attractive and brings a lot of attention to athletics and Pole vault”
Duplantis, who goes by the nickname Mondo, is coached by American father Greg, who was also a pole vaulter, while mother Helena is a former heptathlete and volleyball player.
“This will clearly be the pressure and the big challenge for him to handle” said Bubka, who was speaking ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards in Berlin on Monday as the event celebrates its 20th anniversary.
“There are a lot of reasons why this event is so complicated and so many things go into making a good jump,”
“So many years of hard work go into this, but when you do it right it seems simple.”
“Safe to say I feel good, I feel fast and strong on the runway. I’m excited for the outdoor season, and the Olympics is where I want to be the best.” Duplantis, told BBC Sport.
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