On a night of surprises in Stockholm\u2019s historic Olympic Stadium, the pinnacle of the final Wanda Diamond League meeting ahead of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 proved to be a not-entirely unexpected new height for Mondo Duplantis.<\/p>\n
Global champions Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Malaika Mihambo were beaten into fifth place in their respective events, while the injury-troubled Marcell Jacobs was a no-show in the men\u2019s 100m, but Sweden\u2019s biggest athletics star lived up to expectations on home soil at the Bauhaus Galan.<\/p>\n
The young Swede who has recalibrated the limits of the pole vault did not attempt to improve on the absolute 6.20m world record he set indoors at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22 in March, but in clearing 6.16m at the second time of asking, he added one centimetre to the highest ever outdoor vault in history.<\/p>\n
Two years after scaling 6.15m in Rome, bettering Sergey Bubka\u2019s 6.14m from 1994, Duplantis would have lifted the roof in the 1912 Olympic arena had there been one \u2013 such was the mighty roar from the crowd of fellow Stockholmers as he secured what was also a Wanda Diamond League record, a stadium record and an outdoor world lead.<\/p>\n
Having been followed around the outdoor circuit by inclement weather, the Olympic and world indoor champion took full advantage of near-ideal conditions \u2013 and the inspiring home-town setting \u2013 to raise his game a significant notch ahead of his quest for a first outdoor world title in Eugene.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is extra special,\u201d said Duplantis whose previous season\u2019s best and world lead was the 6.02m he cleared in Oslo on 16 June. \u201cI wanted to come here today and do something special.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt in shape and I have great support here in Stockholm where I live now. It\u2019s my home, so it means extra more.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Duplantis, who is now unbeaten in 12 contests indoors and out in 2022, it was a first competition in the hallowed 1912 Olympic Stadium since he became a resident of Sweden\u2019s capital city, after moving into an apartment with his partner Desire on Kungsholmen, the island that forms part of central Stockholm<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a really special, kind of a home turf feeling to compete here,\u201d said Duplantis, who won from Olympic silver medallist Chris Nilsen of the US and Brazil\u2019s 2016 Olympic champion Thiago Braz, second and third respectively with 5.93m.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a special tie to the stadium. It\u2019s a really beautiful place and it\u2019s a really solid place to jump.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the time I wanted to be in my best shape. I feel like I am definitely in shape to win the title and maybe do something special in Eugene.\u201d<\/p>\n
We have been warned.<\/p>\n
Duplantis sailed over 5.63m, 5.83m, 5.93m and 6.03m before taking his two attempts at 6.16m.<\/p>\n
Asked to reflect on his second-time success, he said: \u201cIt\u2019s hard to describe it, really. You kind of black out when you\u2019re out there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just remember I was trying to focus really hard on not hitting the bar. When I got over it, I just started to run like an idiot.\u201d
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