Swede Duplantis breezes to pole vault gold

PARIS :Sweden's Mondo Duplantis retained his Olympic pole vault title with ludicrous ease on Monday, needing only four successful attempts to take gold with 6.00 metres, before clearing an Olympic record 6.10 for fun.

Duplantis entered the fray at 5.70, and promptly cleared it by about a metre. He sat out 5.80 then flew easily over 5.85, as others all around him were starting to fall by the wayside.

He then cleared 6.00 – the ultimate target for most vaulters – as if he was warming up, and that was all he needed.

Kendricks, the 2017 and 2019 world champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, missed the Tokyo Games after testing positive for COVID after his arrival and spoke this week about the turmoil he suffered as brands considered him "damaged goods".

The pent-up emotion exploded when he equalled his season’s best of 5.95, but he could not get over 6.00 metres with three attempts, leaving Duplantis as the winner on that height, without a fail.

Karalis, 24, cleared his personal best of 5.93 this season and was delighted to get over 5.90. His attempts at 5.95 and 6.00 never looked convincing but he was delighted with his bronze having finished joint-fourth in Tokyo.

It was Greece’s fourth bronze in the event but first since 1956.