Mondo Duplantis

CNN News

Duplantis eclipses his pole vault world record at the Paris Olympics.

Few require further affirmation that Mondo Duplantis stands among the paragons of contemporary athletes, yet he provides such validation nearly every time he graces the runway.

The Paris Olympic Games were no anomaly. Amidst the cacophony of a rapturous crowd, the Swedish pole vault luminary shattered his own world record with a prodigious clearance of 6.25 meters on his third and ultimate attempt.

This feat concluded a torrid evening at Paris' Stade de France on Monday, with Duplantis once more affirming his unrivaled supremacy in this discipline by surpassing the world record for the ninth occasion in his illustrious career.

After two unsuccessful attempts at the world record, Duplantis surmounted the bar on his third, springing to his feet and racing to the stands to embrace his kin.

"I haven't fully grasped the magnificence of that moment," remarked the 24-year-old. "It feels surreal, an ethereal experience. I'm still attempting to ground myself.

"What can I articulate? I just broke a world record at the Olympics, the ultimate stage for a pole vaulter. Since childhood, my paramount dream has been to break the world record at the Olympics, and I have achieved that before the most extraordinary audience I've ever competed in front of."

Duplantis had secured the gold medal well before his record-breaking leap, successfully defending his title from the Tokyo Olympics and augmenting his three world championship titles.

USA's Sam Kendricks secured second place with a clearance of 5.95m, and Greece's Emmanouil Karalis claimed third with 5.9m, but this evening, akin to many prior pole vault contests, belonged to Duplantis.

Duplantis revels in winning his second Olympic gold medal.

Duplantis revels in winning his second Olympic gold medal. Bernat Armangue/AP

The majority of the field had already withdrawn from the competition by the time Duplantis commenced his attempts, bypassing several initial heights while other athletes fell out of medal contention.

Upon clearing 6.10m on his first attempt, thus seizing the Olympic record from Brazil's Thiago Braz, Duplantis captivated the stadium with a pursuit of the world record.

Despite striking the bar on his initial two attempts, he scaled the previously unattained height on his third – an exhilarating embellishment to the gold medal he had secured earlier in the event.

Since first setting the world record in February 2020, Duplantis has consistently pushed his own limits. His previous record was established in Xiamen, China, three-and-a-half months prior, and before that, he confided to CNN that "I have loftier heights within me."

Evidently, Duplantis continues to fulfill that assertion. As the stadium emptied on Monday, he was still savoring the moment, circling the track with a Swedish flag draped over his shoulders.

It is undoubtedly a matter of time before he celebrates another world record.

"I believe I can achieve it again, but that is not my concern at this moment," he stated. "I am elated, and I intend to relish this thoroughly. My family is here, my partner is here, some of my closest friends are here.

"I am going to cherish this immensely. At this moment, nothing else matters."