Armand Duplantis smashes the world’s new annual best performance

For just over a day, Armand Duplantis got to experience what it’s like to not be the best pole vaulter in the world.

On Saturday night, American KC Lightfoot jumped a new world best of the year with a 6.07 in Nashville, which also meant a new American record.

On Sunday night, it was time for Armand Duplantis to try his hand at Lightfoot’s giant jump.

Duplantis only needed three jumps to decide the competition. 5.91 with no cracks was enough as competitors shredded themselves.

Duplantis then requested the 6.11 bar. Height meant not only a new world best, but also the improvement of his two-year-old competition record at Hengeloo by one centimeter.

Duplantis also managed a 6.11 on the first attempt. But “Mondo” didn’t end there.

Duplantis world record attempt

The bar was dialed at 6.23 – a high that meant a new world record.

The first attempt was unsuccessful. Duplantis didn’t come close and called off the attempt even before he had put the stick into the hole. In the second attempt, Mondo broke the approach and started again, but he did not jump and broke and slid under the crossbar at the same time as the wind increased inside the arena.

In the wind, Duplantis wasn’t very close to passing on the third attempt. Duplantis thus remained at an annual world best of 6.11.