Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka dominated the scene for 10 years from 1984-1994. He broke the world record in men’s pole vault 35 times during his career, which included 17 times outdoors and 18 times in indoor competitions. He finished with a best of 6.14 m at outdoor competitions in July 1994 and had a best mark of 6.15 m indoors, set in 1993.
Twenty one years after Bubka set his mark for the indoor world record, Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie broke the mark at the same meet in the same arena. Lavillenie, who had won gold at the 2012 London Olympics, set the mark of 6.16 m at Donestsk, Ukraine on February 15, 2014.
Bubka was at the scene when Lavillenie performed his feat, making it even more special. As indoor and outdoor marks are not seen differently based on a ruling in 2000, Lavillenie’s mark became the official world record.
Armand Duplantis, who goes by his nickname Mondo, was born in the U.S., but represents Sweden in comptetitions. Coached by his father Greg, who was a pole vaulter, and mother Helena, a former heptathlete and volleyball player, he won the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. On February 8, 2020, during a meet at Torun, Poland, Duplantis broke Lavillenie’s world record with a jump of 6.17 m.
In the very next week, on February 15, 2020, Duplantis added another cm to his world record. The 20-year-old jumped 6.18 m at Glasgow, Scotland.
A week later, at the “All Star Perche” competition in Clermont, France, Duplantis got to pick the brains of Lavillenie. Even though he won the competition, he could not raise the world record further, as he failed at his attempts at 6.19 m.
Duplantis’ marks of 6.17 m and 6.18 m are pending official ratification.
Picture Credit : Google