24-year-old Swedish athlete Mondo Duplantis broke his own world pole vault record with a height of 6.24m at the Xiamen Wanda Diamond League meet on Saturday. This marked the start of the 2024 season for Duplantis, who is the reigning Olympic and world champion.
Expressing his excitement about competing in China for the first time, Duplantis said he was eager to kickstart his season. He had recently won the world indoor title in Glasgow with a jump of 6.10m. With three months remaining before he defends his Olympic title in Paris, Duplantis was determined to further improve his performance.
This was only the second time that Duplantis had started his outdoor season with a clearance over six meters. His previous season opener was a successful 6.02m jump at the Doha Diamond League meeting in 2022. The new world record marks a milestone in Duplantis’s career as he has now set eight world records, including his first of 6.17m at Torun in 2020. The record will be subject to ratification before it can be officially recognized as a world record.
Duplantis’s performance at Xiamen highlights his dominance in the sport and sets him up well for another successful year ahead of him on the international stage.
Mondo Duplantis has established himself as one of the top athletes in track and field history, and this latest feat cements his status as a true champion both on and off the track.
