Armand “Mondo” Duplantis exchanged handshakes and hugs with the pole vaulters he had just outclassed to claim his third world championship.
He strolled leisurely toward the stands, sharing a moment with his parents, his brother and his fiancée.
Then, like a true master commanding a packed arena, he turned back, returned to the runway and delivered the encore the fans had been waiting for.
It was another world record – the 14th of his career – as he cleared 6.30 meters.
Duplantis achieved it on his third and final attempt Monday night in Tokyo, more than half an hour after Day 3’s racing had officially concluded. Yet in a crowd of 53,000, no one dared leave. Mondo savored every second, wringing out the drama of a performance that few in attendance will ever forget.
“To be able to enjoy this world record with them and give it to them is super special,” Duplantis said. “Especially considering the last time I was in this stadium, we didn’t have any spectators. It was spooky and eerie and super weird, and not very fun, honestly.”
The night of his last performance at Japan National Stadium was during the COVID-19 Olympics, held a year late in 2021 and without any fans. Duplantis settled for “only” the gold medal that time and missed the world record. The difference, he suspects, was the energy missing during those silent Games.
This time, there was noise and excitement – the crowd clapping in rhythm every time Duplantis lined up – and, like any great artist, Mondo knew how to play to it.
After clearing 6.10 meters, for instance, he imitated Japanese baseball Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki’s pre-bat sleeve-tugging routine.
“My brother was in the crowd, and he plays baseball, so I was trying to fire him up,” Duplantis said. “And the Japanese people, if they understood it, it was just something fun.”
The Louisiana-born phenom, who competes for his mother’s native Sweden, collected $70,000 for the win – his 49th straight dating to September 2022 – along with the $100,000 bonus awarded to record breakers at world championships.
The money isn’t the main motivation for a champion who has won every major title – worlds and Olympics – since the Tokyo Games.
“It’s doing what I know I’m capable of,” Duplantis said. “Motivation-wise, it’s not that much of a problem. I know the level I can compete at, and I kind of demand that out of myself.”
It’s hard to blame the crowd for expecting it, too. Duplantis started breaking records on Feb. 8, 2020, and has done so on three continents and, now, in nine countries. This latest feat puts the height at an even 6.30 meters.
“Six-three sounds really nice, really clean, a new barrier for our sport,” he said. “It sounds better than 6.29, for sure.”
But maybe not as good as 6.31.
Duplantis has, in fact, wondered if 6.5 might be in his future.
At this rate, it would take another few years. The good news is he’s 25, and for comparison, the great Sergey Bubka, who won six straight world titles through the 1980s and ’90s, was 31 when he broke the record for the 17th and final time.
Bubka’s final record was 6.14 meters, and after France’s Renaud Lavillenie topped that once, Duplantis took over. He has improved the record by one centimeter each time, giving him maximum opportunities to pocket bonuses like the one he’ll receive from World Athletics for this one.
“What Mondo has in spades is what every pole vaulter is trying to achieve,” said Sam Kendricks, the fourth-place finisher who is the last man not named Duplantis to win a world title (2019). “He’s got a jump, he’s got the jets. He’s got a family that really supports him, and then he’s got a field of guys that’s really pushing him up there.”
Ditaji Kambundji of Switzerland held off the world record holder and reigning Olympic champion to win a surprise gold in the 100-meter hurdles.
After crossing the finish line, Kambundji stared at the scoreboard, waiting to see where her name would land. When she saw she was first, her eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth in shock.
Kambundji finished in a personal-best 12.24 seconds, holding off world record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria by 0.05 seconds. American Grace Stark took bronze, while Masai Russell, who won gold at the Paris Olympics last summer, was fourth.
“You could see on my face how happy I was when I realized I won,” Kambundji said.
The most heartbreaking scene Monday was steeplechaser Soufiane El Bakkali kneeling with his head on the track, his teammate down there trying to console him.
The two-time world and Olympic champion was outraced to the line by New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish, finishing second by 0.07 seconds.
“Congratulations for a good race today, but for me, I’m coming here for a different reason,” El Bakkali said.
Despite his heartbreak, El Bakkali took a traditional steeplechase dip in the water pit with Beamish.
Beamish celebrated a gold medal some 48 hours after another memorable scene. He had tripped during qualifying, and an oncoming runner stepped on his face. But Beamish got up and made the final.
“It might have been a blessing in disguise,” Beamish said. “That gave me a lot of confidence, just being able to get back up off the ground and qualify pretty easily still. It gave me confidence that my shape was better than what I thought it was.”
