Sweden’s Mondo raises his own bar to set new Olympic and world record in pole vault

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PARIS — Even though Armand Duplantis, aka Mondo, had already set eight world records, fans had even higher hopes — that the 24-year-old would do it again, and do it on the Olympic stage.

It seemed like a greedy ask — a superhuman performance — that is, until he did it.

While the Swedish-American pole vaulter kept his cool, chatting with opponents who’d already finished their competition in between attempts, he kept his fans on the edge of their seats until the last possible moment.

On his third and last run, Duplantis cleared bar on his way to knocking down his own world record by .01 meters.

The world record holder now has a new mark: 6.25 meters.

Duplantis, who won gold in his Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games, flew well over the previous Olympic record of 6.03 set by Brazilian Thiago Braz at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. USA’s Sam Kendricks finished with silver. Emmanouil Karalis of Greece won bronze.

Duplantis says his calm demeanor comes from his preparation. He was first handed a pole at age 3 by his parents, who are also his coaches.

“I really wasn’t all that nervous,” he said after his historic jump. “I’ve just always had so much confidence in my abilities.”

Armand Duplantis, of Sweden, reacts after setting a new world record in the men’s pole vault final at the Paris Olympics on Monday in Saint-Denis, France.

David Goldman/AP

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David Goldman/AP

To hype himself up before each attempt, Duplantis clasped his hands together over his head, cueing to fans to start their steady clap as he bolted down the runway. A sizable sea of yellow and blue showed massive support for the pole vaulter on a busy Monday night at Stade de France stadium.

“What can I say?” he said. “I just broke a world record at the Olympics, biggest possible stage for a pole vaulter. The biggest dream since a kid was to break the world record at the Olympics, and I’ve been able to do that in front of the most ridiculous crowd I’ve ever competed in front of.”

On his last, world-record jump, he said he worked to clear his mind and channel the energy from the crowd.

“It was so loud in there, it sounded like an American football game,” he said. “I have a little bit of experience being in a 100,000 capacity stadium, but I was never the center of attention. It worked out.”