Sweden's Armand Duplantis breaks own indoor pole vault world record

Armand Duplantis broke his own men's pole vault world record on Sunday, jumping 6.20 metres at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade. The 22-year-old Olympic champion improved on his own previous landmark performance, set in the same Belgrade venue earlier this month, by one centimetre. Brazil's Thiago Braz took silver with a jump of 5.95 metres, while American Christopher Nilsen claimed bronze with 5.90 metres.

After the pair fell, Duplantis, who had already cleared 6.05 metres, had a free run at the 6.20 mark, failing twice before landing the record on his third and final attempt. Duplantis now owns the four highest marks in the discipline. He broke Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie's 6.16m world mark with a clearance of 6.17 in February 2020 and then eclipsed that record a week later by another centimetre. He then set a mark of 6.19 on March 7. The Swede won the Olympic men's pole vault gold medal in August last year with a leap of 6.02 metres. The Olympic and 2018 European pole vault champion will now be eager to complete his set of gold medals at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July.