Duplantis gets 14th world record & third world title

16th Sep 2025 | Source: BBC

Armand Duplantis has won 12 senior international titles

History-maker Armand Duplantis soared to his 14th world record with his final attempt as the Swedish superstar continued his pole vault domination by winning a third consecutive world title.

A captivated audience in Tokyo remained in the stadium long after Monday night's other events had concluded to watch the sport's modern-day great become the first human to clear the 6.30m barrier.

The 25-year-old has now claimed the past eight global men's pole vault gold medals on offer across both indoor and outdoor competitions following this triumph in the Japanese capital.

Returning to the stadium where he achieved the first of those major successes four years ago, Duplantis owned his latest moment in the spotlight with his charisma and breathtaking talent.

The two-time Olympic champion sealed gold with a first-time clearance at 6.15m to end Emmanouil Karalis' admirable challenge - and then raised the bar to one centimetre higher than he had ever gone before.

Such is the respect from his competitors, the Greek runner-up - who has risen to fourth on the discipline's all-time list amid his pursuit of Duplantis - held a fan for his rival between his agonisingly close first and second attempts.

With all eyes fixed upon him, a hush of expectation was replaced by rhythmic applause upon Duplantis' request as he prepared for his final attempt.

Japan's National Stadium then erupted as he leapt up from the mat after his successful effort and began his celebrations.

"It's better than I could have imagined. To give you guys this world record is amazing. I'm just so happy," Duplantis told the crowd, who had stayed beyond 23:00 local time to watch him seek the record.

A fourth world record of 2025 by Duplantis is the most number of times he has improved the mark during a single year in his career, which seemingly continues with no limit in sight.

Australia's bronze medallist Kurtis Marschall: "It was an amazing night, the fans were fantastic.

"Mondo is from another planet - he is doing incredible things, things many people thought were impossible.

"I can't wait to see what he's got in the future."

A $100,000 incentive - but how high can he go?

Duplantis, widely known by his nickname 'Mondo', made clear his intentions upon reaching the final. While he knew he had work to do to capture the gold, the world record was "on the cards" in the showpiece.

Everybody else had already made that assumption.

World record talk has replaced any discussion of the destination of men's pole vault gold medals since he first succeeded Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie as the world record holder by clearing 6.17m in February 2020.

And, with World Athletics offering a $100,000 world record bonus, on top of the $70,000 awarded to gold medallists at the championship, there was no lack of motivation to deliver in front of another expectant global audience.

Duplantis has already won every major gold available to him, while last year he became the first man to retain the Olympic pole vault title for 68 years at Paris 2024.

Now it is a case of how many he will end up with - and, perhaps more pertinently, how high he can go.

"No-one knows Duplantis' limits. He is hitting big heights in training but who knows how high he will go? There are a few years of world records in him, for sure," former Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill said on BBC TV.

"Moments like this take your breath away. When you think about how much pressure he was under... He is phenomenal and is setting the future of this sport.

"The speed and athletic ability that this requires - there are so many elements. This is such a hard event to master."

How Duplantis came to dominate

Duplantis surpassed a record-extending 100 career clearances over six metres in winning his third world indoor title in March.

For context, it is a height that has been cleared by just 28 other people throughout history.

Duplantis' closest challenger this season has been Karalis, who despite improving his personal best to 6.08m, trails 22 centimetres behind.

Victory in Japan extends his unbeaten streak to 37 competitions, stretching back to July 2023.

The US-born Swede, who chose to represent his mother's homeland, has not lost a major final since Doha in 2019, where as a teenager he missed out to American Sam Kendricks on countback.

How has he done it? A potent combination of lightning runway speed, technical precision in the take-off, explosive power and the bravery to embrace it as he travels far beyond the average height of a giraffe (5.5m).

It is his sprinting prowess in particular that his rivals pinpoint as a defining factor, with the higher approach speed generating greater kinetic energy and creating the foundation for greater heights.

That is something he has enhanced through specially-developed sprinting spikes which he wears for his world record attempts, which feature an unusual hooked spike in the forefoot.

His incremental centimetre-by-centimetre approach to improving the world record is by no means revolutionary; since Sergey Bubka became the first person to clear six metres 40 years ago, the record has been nudged no more than two centimetres higher at a time.

It helped that Duplantis grew up with a pole vault pit in the back garden of his childhood home in Louisiana, with his father Greg a former elite competitor in the discipline.

That upbringing has also inspired his younger sister Johanna to pursue a future in the sport, the 22-year-old turning professional earlier this year, and Duplantis is still coached by his parents.

The record-breaking dominance he has gone on to achieve has transcended the sport and established Duplantis as the sport's biggest star.

With more than two million followers across his social media accounts, he has been at the forefront of promoting World Athletics' new global event, the Ultimate Championship.

That is set to take place for the first time in Budapest next year to bridge the gap between global competitions, while Duplantis is poised to remain the face of the sport for many years to come.

"We used to say that we needed Usain Bolt here to bring some interest to athletics. Duplantis is a superstar and is transcending the sport," said former world 1500m champion Steve Cram.

"Pole vault draws you in, and that is why Armand is a showman. He orchestrates it.

"It is great for the sport and long may he go higher."