Armand Duplantis reached seventh heaven at the Diamond League Final on Sunday as he yet again broke the pole vault world record.
After he cleared six meters, 23 centimeters – the seventh time in his career that he has broken the world record – Duplantis leaped off the landing mat and celebrated by running over the stands, pumping his arms in the air.
It marked the second of two world records set at the season-ending meet in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday. Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay also broke the women’s 5,000-meter record with a time of 14 minutes, 0.21 seconds.
Sweden’s Duplantis needed just one attempt at 6.23m – a centimeter higher than his own record set in France earlier this year. His legs scraped the bar on the way over, causing it to wobble but stay in position.
The 23-year-old’s historic jump saw him finish way clear of the Philippines’ Ernest John Obiena, who managed 5.82m, in second.
“I’m usually pretty excited for those world records because they feel good. What else can you say really?” Duplantis, who also set a record at Hayward Field last year, told reporters. “It was a crazy way to end the year, I’ve never had an ending like this.”
He added: “By the end of my career, I hope to definitely have the bar up there that I think is the highest that I could have possibly achieved.”
Earlier in the day, Tsegay took almost five seconds off the women’s 5,000m record, which had previously been set by Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon in June.
Tsegay, who was crowned 10,000m world champion earlier this year, raced clear of Beatrice Chebet in the closing stages.
With pain etched across her face and willed on by the crowd, she narrowly missed out on breaking the 14-minute barrier as she crossed the line and sank to the floor. Chebet finished second in 14:05.92 – the third-fastest time in history.
Tsegay’s effort means that the women’s 5000m record has now been lowered by nearly 11 seconds over the past three years.
