For the ninth time in his career, Armand Duplantis has broken the world record in pole vaulting. His performance on Monday night, in the Olympic final, during which he cleared 6.25 m – one centimetre more than his previous record set last April – in front of a Stade de France in full swing that was just waiting for it, will inevitably remain a defining moment in the history of sport. In his mind, the 24-year-old Swede had already experienced it a million times.
When did you realize that your jump would give you a new world record?
ARMAND DUPLANTIS. You’re never sure before you cross the bar… But in truth, from the takeoff, I felt that I had put in the energy needed to go really high. Just before leaving, I changed my mark. It’s crazy, it’s hard to understand what happened tonight (Monday). If I hadn’t broken this record again in my career, I would have easily accepted it but… Honestly, I’m happy guys. I had nothing to lose, I was already Olympic champion, I had already broken the Olympic record. I think that this mentality is important… To tell yourself that you have everything to gain.
Did you ever think you would achieve this feat when you were a child?
I have thought about this moment a million times in my life. Every time I was in my garden, at my parents’ house, I thought about breaking the world record and being an Olympic champion. And I feel like what happened happened exactly as I visualized it. When I was ready to jump, I felt like I had already lived this moment, because it was a dream I had when I was little. To make the right jump at the right time, it can’t be explained, it’s stronger than words. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
“This is the craziest stadium I’ve ever heard”
How was it different, this Monday evening in Paris, compared to your last Olympic title obtained in Tokyo during Covid?
It changes everything, it felt like a real competition here rather than a very stressful training session. It was pretty crazy, it’s the craziest stadium I’ve ever heard. And above all, I had never been the center of attention in a stadium like that… It was crazy.
Are you aware of your limits?
Honestly, right now, I don’t really care, I just want to enjoy the moment that just happened, what I just achieved. I want to party with my friends, my family. There were friends here from my hometown who probably hadn’t seen me pole vault since high school. I think I’m going to go to karaoke even though I don’t have a voice anymore… But I’m going to find the liquid courage to go on stage anyway (laughs). I’ve lived in a basement for the last three months preparing for this evening, it was hard, so now I’m going to enjoy it a little.
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