Sweden's pole vaulter, Mondo, breaks the world record for the 13th time
In Budapest, Hungary, at the István Gyulai Memorial on the 13th of July, 2023, Sweden's Mondo Duplantis once again made history by breaking the pole vault world record. This marks the 13th time Duplantis has set a new world mark in the sport.
Duplantis, who first broke the world record in 2020 in Poland with a leap of 6.17m, improved his previous record by one centimetre, soaring to a height of 6.29 metres. This leap places Duplantis 15 centimetres higher than the previous record set by Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka.
The previous world record, held by Duplantis' fellow countryman Renaud Lavillenie, stood for six years before being broken. Lavillenie had beaten the previous world record set by Bubka by one centimetre in 2014.
Duplantis' performance in Budapest was not without its challenges. He missed his first attempt at the new height, but he lived up to his promise of a "big leap" for the following day, successfully clearing 6.29m on his second attempt.
Greece's Emmanouil Karalis retired from the competition after failing twice at 6.11m. Duplantis, who celebrated with his partner Desire Inglander and his family after setting the new record, will now compete at the Silesia Diamond League on Saturday, where he also broke the world record last year.
Duplantis, who once referred to Bubka as "mythological", has shown a deep respect for the history of the sport while continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible. He apologized for being late to the press conference in Budapest, citing time management issues, and expressed his love for Hungary and the crowd in Budapest.
[1] Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record with a clearance of 6.29 metres at the Hungarian Grand Prix meeting in Budapest. (Source: World Athletics)
[1] After improving his previous pole vault world record from 2020, Mondo Duplantis made history again by setting a new world mark of 6.29 metres at the Hungarian Grand Prix meeting in Budapest.
[2] In doing so, Duplantis not only surpassed his own record but also exceeded the previous record set by Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka by 15 centimetres.
