Armand Duplantis’ triumphant ascent at the Prefontaine Classic marks the culmination of a lengthy journey to achieve greatness.
Since the Brussels Diamond League, Duplantis has relentlessly pursued the goal of surpassing his own world record of 6.22 meters. During that event, the Swedish-American athlete openly criticized his performance, deeming his jumps as subpar. While he managed to clear an impressive 6.10 meters, his three subsequent attempts at 6.23 meters proved unsuccessful.
“I had it in me to jump the world record today and I really thought I was going to do it. It’s a shame but my jumps were lousy,” Duplantis said of his performance in Brussels.
Despite this result, Armand Duplantis still came out victorious in Brussels, with Sam Kendricks in second place and EJ Obiena in third place.
Armand Duplantis’ history of breaking records
Duplantis is considered a “titan” when it comes to Pole Vault competitions. In February of 2020, he cleared an impressive 6.17 meters in Torun and broke Lavillenie’s previous world record of 6.16 meters when he was just twenty years old.
In the subsequent years, his dominance in the sport remained unchallenged.
Duplantis consistently pushed the boundaries, relentlessly striving to surpass his own records, ultimately solidifying his reign as the unrivaled pole vault champion.
Prior to the Prefontaine Classic, Duplantis had shattered his own record an astounding six times within a mere three-year timeframe.
Armand Duplantis’ Seventh World Record at Hayward Field
At the Diamond League, there was much anticipation for athletes to break world records that day. For the 200 meters, it was Jackson who tried to beat the 35-year old record of Flo-Jo. For Duplantis, it was his own record of 6.22 meters that he was trying to surpass.
All eyes were on Armand Duplantis on September 17. The audience and his competitors were all aware of his goal.
In his first attempt, Duplantis immediately cleared the 6.23-meter mark. Finally reaching his goal for the season, he bounced off the mat and ran across the stands, throwing his hands in the air in celebration.
“I’m usually pretty excited for those world records because they feel good. What else can you say really?” Duplantis told reporters.
“It was a crazy way to end the year, I’ve never had an ending like this.”, he added.
Duplantis also revealed what he hopes to accomplish at the end of his professional life.
“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.”
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