(FILES) Sweden's Armand Duplantis competes in the men's pole vault final during the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on August 26, 2023. Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis kicks off his outdoor season at the Xiamen Diamond League meet on April 20, 2024 confident that his "inner" competition will keep pushing him to new heights. Ben Stansall / AFP
April 20, 2024
XIAMEN, China (AFP)— Sweden’s Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis opened his outdoor season in stunning fashion on Saturday as he bettered his own pole vault world record at the Xiamen Diamond League meeting.
Duplantis, the reigning Olympic, two-time world and European champion, cleared 6.24 metres at his first attempt at the Egret Stadium to improve by 1cm his previous best set in Eugene last year.
The US-born 24-year-old entered competition at 5.62m, clearing 5.82 and 6.00m before setting the new world record — his eighth in the discipline.
American Sam Hendricks finished second with a best of 5.82m, China’s Bokai Huang claiming third (5.72).