The Olympiastadion in Stockholm erupted in jubilation today as Sweden’s own Armand Duplantis delivered a historic performance, breaking the men’s pole vault world record for an astonishing 12th time. The two-time Olympic champion, cheered on by a fervent home crowd, effortlessly cleared 6.28m on his first attempt, improving his previous record, set just in February, by a full centimeter.
From the moment his name echoed through the stadium, Duplantis, 25, engaged the crowd, urging them to fuel his attempts with their applause and cheers. He cruised through the competition, making every jump look easy, even as Australia’s Kurtis Marschall valiantly attempted to challenge him with a best of 5.90m.
With the field cleared, the bar was raised to 6.28m for the record-breaking attempt. Duplantis powered through his run-up, planted his pole, and soared with characteristic grace, landing to an explosion of sound from the jubilant stadium, originally built for the 1912 Olympics.
“This was one of my biggest goals and dreams, to set a world record here at Stadion,” Duplantis exclaimed, tears of joy visible as he celebrated with his partner and family, tearing off his singlet in triumph. “It’s like the Olympics and Stadion, they’re the same level for me. I really wanted to do it, I had my whole family here, from both sides, it’s magic, it’s magic.”
Despite the effortless appearance, Duplantis admitted a flicker of doubt. “Every time I broke the world record, I felt it in my first jump that ‘this could be the day’, but today it felt a little tougher. It didn’t feel that natural from the beginning, it didn’t feel great in my legs, but I only needed one [try].” He added, “I almost couldn’t believe it, it felt like the very first time I broke the record. For me, I’m still a little hazy in my mind, it feels unreal, I’m just so happy, it’s a cloud nine feeling. It’s hard to explain, it’s hard to compare, it felt a bit like the Olympics.”
Georgia Hunter Bell surged down the final 50 meters to claim a powerful win in the women’s 800m, clocking 1:57:66. The 1500m bronze medallist from Paris last summer displayed incredible strength, overcoming Kenya’s 2023 world champion Mary Moraa and South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso. Great Britain’s Jemma Reekie also secured a season-best time, finishing fifth in 1:58:66.
Dina Asher-Smith finished second in the women’s 100m with a time of 10.93sec, behind Olympic champion Julien Alfred, who won in 10.75. Daryll Neita placed fifth with 11.17.
World indoor champion Amber Anning secured third place in the women’s 400m, behind American Isabella Whittaker, with a season’s best of 50.17.
Innes Fitzgerald and Hannah Nuttall both achieved personal bests, finishing third and fourth respectively in the women’s 3,000m with times of 8:32:90 and 8:33:82.
George Mills finished fifth in the men’s 1500m with a season-best time of 3:32:67, while Alastair Chalmers also placed fifth in the 400m hurdles.
In the women’s 400m hurdles, Dutch star Femke Bol blazed over the final 100m to win in a season-best 52.11, a significant eight-tenths of a second ahead of American Dalilah Muhammad.
