Duplantis clears 6.19m to break world pole vault record

Armand Duplantis, already sure of his place in pole vault history, flew even higher on Monday when he broke his own world record with a leap of 6.19m in Belgrade.

The 22-year-old American-born Swede known as "Mondo" was born and raised in Louisiana. His gold in Tokyo last year boosted his status in a sport searching for star quality since the retirement of Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt in 2017.

His exuberant celebrations and looks straight out of a teenage romantic film, a genre he loves, mean he fits the bill.

Duplantis is a product of a sport-obsessed family with their own vaulting apparatus in their Louisiana garden.

His American father, Greg, a former pole vaulter (who cleared 5.80 m), supervises his technique. His Swedish mother, Helena, a former heptathlete and volleyball player, oversees his physical preparation.

His older brother Andreas vaulted for Sweden at various age-group championships, while another sibling Antoine dropped pole vault in favour of baseball and is in the New York Mets minor-league system.

Armand spent summers with his Swedish grandparents.

He started pole vaulting, which requires the speed and strength of sprinter and the flexibility of a gymnast, when he was four.

He announced his talent when he cleared 5.90m aged just 17 at the Texas Relays in Austin in 2017.

He turned professional in 2019 after one season on a scholarship at Louisiana State University.

His parents try to balance sport with normal family life

"All dads teach sports to kids, but not a professional level," Brennan Robideaux, director of a feature documentary on Duplantis, "Born to Fly," told AFP.

"They switch easily. When it's time to be the coach they do, but when it's time to watch a movie its full parent-kid. Very good balancing