“Mondo” Duplantis soars to new outdoor World Record, at home, in Stockholm

Swedish Olympic pole vault champion Armand “Mondo” Duplantis continued his stellar, unbeaten season, rocketing to a new outdoor World Record of 6.16m/20′ 2 ½” on Thursday evening in Stockholm.

The 22-year-old pole vault star had room to spare going over the crossbar, however he knicked it with his knees. It remained intact and upon landing, Duplantis began an ecstatic celebration running feverishly to greet his girlfriend, friends and family alongside the track at the venerable 1912 Olympic Stadium.

“It is extra special - I wanted to come here today and do something special,” said Duplantis, whose previous season’s best and world lead was 6.02m, a height he cleared in Oslo on June 16. “I felt in shape and I have great support here in Stockholm, where I live now. It’s my home, so it means extra more.

“I’ve got a special tie to the stadium. It’s a really beautiful place and it’s a really solid place to jump,” said Duplantis, who defeated Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist Chris Nilsen of the U.S. and Brazil’s 2016 Olympic champion Thiago Braz, second and third respectively with 5.93m.

The pole vault superstar sailed over 5.63m, 5.83m, 5.93m and 6.03m, before taking his two attempts at 6.16m. Duplantis raised his own outdoor world record of 6.15m, a mark he had set at Rome’s Olympic Stadium in November 1999. He opted not to attempt his overall world record of 6.20m, which he jumped at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, this past March.

Duplantis cemented his status as an overwhelming favorite in his event for the fast-approaching World Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, July 15-24. He is seeking his first world title, after earning silver, beaten by Sam Kendricks at Doha 2019.

The U.S. born Swede is also aiming to become only the fourth Swedish man to win a world title, the championships officially established in 1987.

With a victory, Duplantis would join high jumper Patrick Sjoberg, who won at the inaugural championship, triple jumper Christian Olsson (2003), and his current teammate and fellow Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist Daniel Stahl, who took discus gold in Doha 2017.

Stahl stalled

Stahl was also in action on Thursday night, competing at his “favorite arena in the whole world,” however, unlike Duplantis, he had an average night. Also competing in front of Swedish friends and family, the behemoth discus thrower struggled in the early rounds, but finally tossed a respectable 67.57m on his fourth attempt. Still, the big Swede could manage no better than third. The event was won by Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia, with a meet record heave of 70.02m.

On the eve of the meet, Stahl was asked how he would prepare for the hometown competition. “I will be playing cards with my Mom and grandmother, and then tomorrow I will kick ass and have fun,” Stahl said. After coming up short on his vow, he’ll have a chance to redeem himself in Oregon.

The defending world discus champion discussed the state of his event considering a very competitive field of throwers.

“I’m really happy about the sport discus right now because we have so many guys over 69 meters, 68 meters, 67 meters and I think everyone gets very motivated about that,” Stahl said. “It’s awesome.”

Italian Olympic sprinting champion misses meet

Notably absent from the Stockholm Wanda Diamond League meeting was Italian Olympic 100-meter champion Marcell Jacobs, who was forced to withdraw from the event at last minute due to his recurring thigh injury. Meet organizers noted that Jacobs’ team made the decision to scratch Jacobs after the sprinter felt “pain” in training.

An injury plagued season leads many to wonder how ready and able will the 27-year-old Olympic champion be for the upcoming world championships, with men’s 100-meter qualifying scheduled for the opening day, July 15.

Despite the nagging injury, Jacobs expresses optimism.

“I’m super focused on the world championships, that’s my target, to be in ideal shape for two weeks’ time,” he said.

India’s Golden Boy

Making his Diamond League season debut in Stockholm, was India’s Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra. The 27-year-old, who has significantly elevated the status of athletics in his home country, finished second with a national record and personal best toss of 89.94m. The 2019 world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada won the competition setting a meet record of 90.31m.

“In Eugene, it will be anybody’s game,” Peters said, looking forward to another dual with Chopra at worlds.

Chopra was asked about what his Olympic achievement meant for Athletics in his country.

“When I came back to India after the Olympics, there were thousands of people at the airport and in my village,” Chopra said. “The good thing is that so many youngsters started athletics and the javelin throw.

“After me, there are three juniors who all threw 80 meters this year, so the level is coming up,” he said. “I feel very proud to see my country is coming up in my event.”

Chopra will be the only athlete from India competing at worlds in the U.S., with javelin qualifying slated for Thursday, July 21.

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