by Stuart Weir
Mondo Duplantis sets second WR indoor in one week! photo by Getty Images / British Athletics
Mondo Duplantis clears 6.18m, a second WR in one week! photo by Getty Images / British Athletics
A second WR in one week, and our man in Glasgow, Stuart Weir, wrote this up on the 6.18m WR by twenty year old Mondo Duplantis. Mondo Duplantis went 6.18m, on his first attempt at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, on Feb. 15, 2020.
World Record again
The Men’s pole vault was always going to be a highlight of the Muller Indoor Grand Prix in Glasgow, Scotland. It was a straight shoot-out between the new World (Indoor) Record holder, Armand (Mondo) Duplantis, and the reigning Olympic and World Champion, Sam Kendricks. In saying that Kendricks is World Champion, let us remember that he and Duplantis each jumped 5.97 in Doha! Pawel Wojceichowski was also in the field – well, you have to have a Pole in the pole vault!
Mondo Duplantis, Feb. 15, 2020, WR #2, 6.18m, photo by Getty Images/ British Athletics
Just one week after breaking the pole vault world record in Torun, Duplantis improved the mark to 6.18m. Duplantis opened at 5.50m and got over 5.75m on his second try, meaning that Kendricks was in the lead at that point. Kendricks then failed at 5.84, a height that Duplantis sailed over on his first attempt. With no one else left in the competition, the 20-year-old then flew over 6.00m, a UK indoor all-comers’ record. His clearance over the bar suggested he was capable of going much higher.
Mondo Duplantis, new WR, Muller Indoor GP, Feb. 15, 2020, photo by Getty Images / British Athletics
He had the bar moved up to 6.18m – one centimeter higher than his recent world record height. He only needed one attempt. Then he retired from the competition to claim his second world record bonus check for $30,000. He said afterwards: “This was such a great competition. There was such great energy that the crowd was giving me and I really thrive off that. How can I complain, it just feels so good. I felt like I was over it and once I was going over I knew I had it. You can’t tell how far away you are from the bar but it felt like a good jump from the get go. I tried a stiffer pole and it worked out. It’s the best little split second. Everything builds up to that little split second and the freefall was magical. It’s unfair to think I’ll break it every time I compete. I don’t think about it too much. You don’t need to break a record to win every competition. I want to win and that’s always the goal but firstly you’ve got to win and if I have the energy left then I’ll crank it up a bit”.
Mondo Duplantis, celebrating with the fans, post WR, Feb. 15, 2020, photo by Getty Images / British Athletics
Sam Kendricks was gracious as always: “I really didn’t reach my potential today but it wasn’t for the lack of trying. I left it all out there and if you compare my day to Mondo’s you can just say I had a bad day. I cleared some good bars today. It’s always my aim to be competitive but when a guy jumps the world record, he really is hard to beat. I’m getting over some sickness right now and I’ll be better in the next meets. Hopefully, when the outdoor season comes around I’ll be able to give Mondo a run for his money. I have said before, and I don’t mean to disrespect anyone, but the world record isn’t my destiny. To live in a time where a guy can pull out world records back-to-back, you can’t grow into that. I have to beat him on a day where everything isn’t perfect. I don’t want to doubt him or have him doubt me”.
Ben Broeders set a new Belgian National record with 5.75 but had to settle for third.
It was great to see a field event take center stage and for the sell-out crowd to be able to see a world record.
