Mondo Duplantis broke his outdoor pole vault world record by one centimeter, clearing 6.16 meters (more than 20 feet, 2 inches) at a Diamond League meet in Stockholm on Thursday.
Duplantis, the Olympic gold medalist who was raised in Louisiana and now lives in Stockholm, has broken the indoor and outdoor world records a combined six times in the last two and a half years.
“It feels quite OK, I cannot complain,” the 22-year-old said, according to meet organizers. “It is hard to describe it really. You kind of black out out there. I just remember I was trying to focus really hard to not hitting the bar. And once when I did, I was over the bar and then I just started to run like an idiot.”
Next month, Duplantis will bid to win the world outdoor title for the first time in Eugene, Oregon.
“This is the time I wanted to be in my best shape,” said Duplantis, who is on a 15-meet win streak dating to last year. “I feel like I am definitely in shape to win my title and maybe to do something special in Eugene.”
Duplantis started pole vaulting at age 3 and honed his craft in the family backyard in Lafayette, Louisiana.
His dad, Greg, was fifth in the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials pole vault. His mom, Helena, represented Sweden as a heptathlete.
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