‘Serial winner’ Duplantis dominates pole vault at Oslo Diamond League

Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis dominated the men’s pole vault at the Diamond League meet in Oslo on Thursday in another stellar display.

“I am very satisfied,” said Duplantis after winning with a new meet record of 6.15 metres.

“To get a stadium record here was in my plans after a few visits here with difficult conditions.

“It was great to finally get the right conditions tonight.”

The US-born Swede remains head and shoulders above the rest, having bettered his own world record to 6.27m in February on the back of a 2024 season when he not only won Olympic gold but also broke the world record three times.

Duplantis has also registered the 11 highest jumps in the history of the sport, improving the world record one centimetre at a time from 6.17 to 6.27.

He is the undisputed king of the event and was also named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for 2024. Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt is the only track and field athlete to have previously won the award.

While the world’s top eight competed in Oslo, none proved to be anywhere near Duplantis’ level.

Duplantis came in at 5.62m, but three of the 10-strong field bombed out: home hope Sondre Guttormsen, Belgium’s Ben Broeders and Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines.

The Swede skipped 5.72m along with Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, but another trio of vaulters failed to clear the mark: American Sam Kendricks, Dutchman Menno Vloon and Turkey’s Ersu Sasma.

France’s 2012 Olympic gold medallist Renaud Lavillenie snuck through on his last attempt, but promptly withdrew from competition.

Also read | Warholm sets world best in 300m hurdles in Oslo Diamond League

Duplantis and Karalis cleared 5.82m at their first time of asking, but it proved a height too far for Australian Kurtis Marschall.

That left just Duplantis and his Greek rival in the competition, but the latter had three failed efforts at 5.92m after the Swede had gone clear.

That left just Duplantis and the bar was raised to 6.03m, 1cm more than the meet record he set in 2022.

He needed three attempts, but did it on the third to wild applause from the 15,000-strong crowd at the Bislett Stadium.

The bar went up to 6.15m and he passed on the second go, but called it a night as temperatures dipped in Oslo.

“It did get cooler so that was why I stopped jumping,” he said.

“On Sunday in Stockholm it would be an absolute dream to break the world record. In fact I could retire if I do! At the moment the forecast is good for Sunday and I am feeling good, I am in good shape and tonight shows I am jumping well so who knows, it may be possible.

“I need to build on tonight and get ready now for the big one.”

Duplantis has now competed in 40 Diamond League meetings since 2020 and lost only four times, making him one of the series’ most extraordinary serial winners.