Pole vault star Armand Duplantis went past Ukrainian legend Sergey Bubka’s 26-year mark, setting a outdoor new pole vault world record of 6...
Pole vault star Armand Duplantis went past Ukrainian legend Sergey Bubka’s 26-year mark, setting a outdoor new pole vault world record of 6.15m at the Diamond League meeting in Rome on Thursday.
Duplantis, who already holds the world indoor record of 6.18m, bettered the mark of 6.14m achieved by Bubka in July 1994 in Italy.
The 20-year-old succeeded on his second attempt in a competition he dominated in perfect warm and windless conditions, but without spectators to celebrate in an empty Stadio Olimpico.
“I think I’m still up in the clouds right now,” said the US-born athlete. “It’s a surreal, super crazy feeling.”
Duplantis set the world record indoors in February, and had made the outdoor mark his goal with the Olympic Games and European championships postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was something I really wanted to do, there was a lot of confusion between the indoor and outdoor,” said Duplantis. “I thought ‘why not just do it?’ be the best outdoor, to clear up the confusion.”
Duplantis had cleared an earlier attempt but hit the bar on the way down. “It was a kind of mental thing. After that first attempt I knew what I had to do it so just went out and did it,” said Duplantis, who...
