From February 8, 2020, leading into the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, the men’s pole vault world record had been broken 13 times. Those records, and the individuals responsible for them, follow:
- Feb. 8, 2020: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.17 meters
- Feb. 15, 2020: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.18 meters
- Mar. 7, 2022: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.19 meters
- Mar. 20, 2022: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.20 meters
- July 24, 2022: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.21 meters
- Feb. 25, 2023: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.22 meters
- Sep. 17, 2023: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.23 meters
- Apr. 20, 2024: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.24 meters
- Aug. 5, 2024: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.25 meters (Paris 2024 Olympic Games)
- Aug. 25, 2024: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.26 meters
- Feb. 28, 2025: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.27 meters
- June 15, 2025: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.28 meters
- Aug. 12, 2025: Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – 6.29 meters
Prior to “Mondo” Duplantis’s tear – and consecutive cash bonuses each time he sets a new world mark – Renaud Lavillenie’s 6.16-meter record had stood for six years. Before that, 6.14 was the number to beat, a 20-year-old mark set by the legendary Sergei Bubka. Fast forward to a balmy Sep. 15 evening at the Japan National Stadium, when Duplantis easily bested the field to win the gold ahead of Emmanouil Karalis (silver, 6.00, Greece) and Kurtis Marschall (bronze, 5.95, Australia). The Louisiana native, who represents his mother’s home country of Sweden, could have just called a night. Yet with all other events concluded for the evening, and the entire at-capacity crowd watching, he decided to apply the pressure on himself to hit 6.30 meters.
With just three permitted attempts and the clock winding down, a visibly stressed Duplantis missed his first two vaults. The third time ended up being the charm, and his competitors raced onto to the track to engulf him in embraces. Heading into 2026, the question that remains for the reigning two-time Olympic champion is: how much higher can he go?
Photos and Videos: Armand Duplantis at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, Tokyo
all photos and videos by Meniscus Magazine
