Kiss after world record: Duplantis jumps into a new dimension

Pole vault king Armand Duplantis has entered a new dimension with a fabulous world record at his next World Championship triumph.

September 15, 2025

From: dpa/dl

With a breathtaking 6,30 meters, he continued his seemingly endless winning streak and crowned himself champion at the Tokyo Athletics Championships. The Olympic champion from Tokyo and Paris was also celebrated as world champion on the lap of honor in Japan's National Stadium at his next World Championship gold medal show, as he did in 2022 and 2023.

"Thank you, that was my biggest dream," Duplantis said at the stadium microphone. "It was fantastic." Accompanied by loud applause from the enthusiastic fans, he received the victory kiss from his fiancée, Desiré Inglander.

The 25-year-old Swede jumped 30 centimeters higher than Olympic bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece, who was delighted to take silver. In a high-class final, 2023 World Championship bronze medalist Kurtis Marschall of Australia finished third again with 5,95 meters.

$170.000 in prize money

For his next title, "Mondo" Duplantis collected $170.000 (approximately €145.000) in prize money: $70.000 for the victory and $100.000 for the world record. A world record that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

Armand Duplantis is a superstar. © APA/afp / KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV

He narrowly cleared the 6,30 meters he had set for himself twice in front of his parents in the stands, but finally succeeded on his third and final attempt. He had cleared the bar six times in six jumps and was already crowned world champion with a jump of 6,15 meters – and after all other competitions had ended, he was able to take full advantage of the stage in front of 50.000 spectators.

Last Duplantis defeat in 2023

Bo Kanda Lita Baehre performed well in the final. The Munich 2022 European Championship runner-up equaled his season's best of 5,75 meters. For Torben Blech and Oleg Zernikel, the preliminary round was the end of the road. "It was a great competition with a world record at the end," Lita Baehre said on ARD.

Duplantis has now jumped a world record 14 times. The exceptional Swedish athlete has already hinted that he believes 6,40 meters is within his grasp one day. With well over 100 jumps over 6,00 meters, he has long been in a different league. His last championship defeat was six years ago; he was beaten in the Diamond League in Monaco in the summer of 2023.

Schlagwörter: Track & Field Armaund Duplantis Tokyo