Olympic champion Armand Duplantis broke his own world pole vault record with a 6.19m clearance at the Belgrade Indoor Meeting. Duplantis set the record of 6.18m in February 2020 indoors in Glasgow. (More Sports News)
“I've tried 6.19 meters 50 times,” the Swede said. The second place went to Robert Renner of Slovakia with 5.31m while Ivan Paravac of Croatia came third with 5.16m.
“It's been a long time coming. I've never had a height that has given me that much trouble, so it's a very good feeling. It was really hard fought over these past two years. I'm really happy.”
With all of his opponents finished, Duplantis opened his series with 5.61, 5.85 and 6.00 all on his first tries.
At 6.19, he missed his first two attempts. On his third and final try, he nudged the bar slightly with his knees but it remained in place. He leaped up from the landing mat and punched the air in celebration.
Duplantis has now set three world records in the pole vault: 6.17 in Torun in February 2020, followed by 6.18m one week later in Glasgow, and now 6.19m in Belgrade.
He’ll return to the Serbian capital later in the month for the World Indoor Championships from 18-20 March.
