The World Athletics Championships concluded in one of the “temples” of the sport, the Hayward Field stadium in Eugene, Oregon, on the night of this Sunday, 24th. Jakob Ingebrigtsen ending with African hegemony in the flat 5,000 meters after almost four decades. A World Cup that also had “stratospheric” records like the American’s 50s and 68s Sydney McLaughlin in the 400 meters hurdles or, in closing, the 12s12 of the Nigerian Tobi Amusan in the 100 meters hurdles. A World Cup where, like never before, South American athletics made themselves felt with the two victories of the Peruvian walker Kimberly Garcia and the portentous performances of consecrated persons such as Venezuelans Yulimar of the Red Valley in the triple jump and the Brazilian hurdler ALison Brendom Alves dos Santos over 400 meters. And a World Cup where, once again, as has been happening in recent seasons, the Swede Armand Duplantis He is consolidating himself as a star convening, inheriting the place left by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt since his retirement from the slopes.

The pole vault test has practically closed the programming e it was the highest level in its entire history, with seven men fighting for medals above 5.87 meters. Obviously none – at least on the jump meter – with the possibility of snatching Duplantis the only title he was missing.

“I love to compete here, in the end I felt a little tired but the audience gave me the energy I needed,” he commented after his classic exultation and a new world record of 6 meters and 21 centimeters, which allowed to start with a profit of 170 thousand dollars (100 thousand for the record, 70 thousand for the gold medal). These are figures that, for other highly professionalized sports, are not impressive, but in the case of track and field they call attention to a new era.

With that level and participation, it was a tough and huge competition. Duplantis started without difficulty in 5.70 and 5.80, he needed two jumps in 5.87 to then establish himself in 5.94 and 6 meters, height on which his victory was sealed. He also passed 6.06 first, a score he usually surpasses, and from there he applied to go for 6.21 and the new world record, which he broke on the second try.

“This is the medal I was missing. He arrived with a record but, really, he was focused on winning “, said a man who at 22 already holds – in addition to the record – the most coveted titles in his specialty, the Olimpico (Tokyo in 2021) and the championships of the world (indoor in Belgrade, now outdoor) achieved this year.

The silver medal went to the American Christopher Nilsen with 5.94, the same record obtained by the third – Asian recorder – a Filipino named Ernest Obiena. There was to discuss the Brazilian Thiago Braz da Silva, Olympic champion in Rio 2016 and bronze in Tokyo. But after his two nulls at 5.94 and when he was missing only one attempt, he preferred to take a risk and go to 6 meters. It couldn’t be, he finished fourth. The former monarch of the specialty – until a few years ago – the French Renaud Lavillenie had to settle for his 5.87 for fifth place, the same score as Braz. He saw how his training partner in Formia -Obiena- took a medal …

You will come out of Bubka

The history of pole vaulting has a historical, exclusive name: Sergei Bubka. The Ukrainian – who is now vice president of the international federation (World Athletics) – was the first to cross the 6-meter border, taking the event to a new dimension in the 1980s and 1990s.

Bubka has won the overall world title five times, while he was not so lucky with the Olympic events: his country boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Games (where the Tsar was superfavorite) and triumphed, rightly, in an exciting race in Seoul 88, when it still represented the Soviet Union. In Barcelona 92, surprisingly, he was empty.

But Bubka was virtually invincible and devoted himself to breaking world records, scoring 35 throughout his campaign. Obviously at the time the outdoor and indoor records were kept separately in jumping competitions (today it is considered a unique, “absolute” record, in any scenario in which it is achieved).

At the end of his extraordinary career, Bubka had left that very high bar: 6.15 as winner on the indoor track in Donetsk (21-2-1993) and 6.14 outdoors, obtained on 31 July 1994 in Sestriere, in Italy. . Several successive generations had difficulty daring with the 6 meters, until the French Lavillenie managed to beat the Ukrainian’s all-time record: 6.16 meters on February 15, 2014 in Donetsk, in a tournament organized by Bubka himself (and in a territory that today is the scene of the sad and devastating Russian invasion).

superstar duplantis

Armand Duplantis appeared like a hurricane in recent times to overcome those signs. Before the pandemic paralyzed all athletic activity, he set the all-time record with 6.17 (on February 8, 2020 in Torün, Poland) and raised it to 6.18 a week later in Glasgow.

But the physical and technical conditions, and the champion mentality that Duplantis had exhibited in a devastating way since his youth campaign, already predicted this, even when the transition to the “elderly” is usually complicated.

The American Sam Kendrickswho managed to overtake him at the Doha 2019 World Cup, had commented: “When you expect too much from such a young athlete, you can ruin everything. But this is not the case with Mondo, it seems to me that he has enough personality to withstand the pressures and is destined, in athletics, for things even greater than a record ”.

Super athlete DNA

Athletics was born from Armand’s cradle world Duplantis, born November 10, 1999 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA. His father, Greg, was one of the best pole jumpers in the United States in the early 1990s, with a personal best of 5.80. And Helena Hedlund, her mother, was a very good heptathlete (5,314 points), before graduating in dietician. Armand Duplantis chose to represent his mother country. And in reality that “dynasty” comes from further away: Lars-Ake Hedlund, the grandfather of world and Helena’s father, ran an athletics club in Sweden, specializing in pole vault training.

Helena went to the United States for her wedding and also to study at Louisiana State University, where she was also an outstanding volleyball player. Armand Duplantis’ older brothers have also tried their hand at athletics: Andreas represented Sweden at the U18 World Cup in Bressanne, Antoine and Johanna practiced pole vaulting … Father Greg has installed a slide for his children in his backyard in Lafayette, where world He started his stunts right away and jumped almost 4 meters when he was only 7 years old.

What has come is already known history. In the crowded and competitive environment of college and college athletes in the United States, Armand Duplantis has quickly made a name for himself, breaking records and racking up titles since he started competing. In 2015 he was proclaimed U18 world champion in Cali with 5.30 meters. And the following year, already in the junior (u20) competition in Poland, he won the bronze medal with 5.45 meters. In 2018 Duplantis was proclaimed under 20 world champion with 5.82 meters in Tampere (Finland) and weeks later he won the European Senior Championships with 6.05 in Berlin, setting the junior world record.

The Tokyo Olympic win gave him a boost of confidence – in case he still needs it – and he’s been walking unbeatable all season. He first took world records at 6.19 and 6.20 meters, both indoor brands in Belgrade. On 30 June in Stockholm he reached 6.16 meters, the best record so far known in the open air and anticipated what would happen to Eugene. The solvency with which he has overcome all these peaks, including the 6.21 World Cup last Sunday, indicate that still there is “so much Duplantis” to admire on the great athletic stages.