Armand Duplantis breaks pole vault record world for 14th time at World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on way to gold
Armand Duplantis made history once again as he set a new world record at the Athletics World Championships in Tokyo; Duplantis delighted a packed crowd in Tokyo by clearing 6.30m on his way to collecting the gold medal
Monday 15 September 2025 16:23, UK
Sweden's Armand Duplantis broke the men's pole vault world record for a 14th time on his way to gold at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Duplantis hit new heights with a third-time clearance of 6.30 metres to continue his tradition of beating his own previous record by one centimetre as he secured his third consecutive world title.
With the track events completed in the Monday night session at Tokyo's National Stadium, all eyes were on Duplantis who put on a show for the 60,000 spectators by making history again.
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The 25-year-old was close with his first attempt and even closer with his second, just flicking the bar with his thigh as the crowd gasped.
Surrounded by his competitors, Duplantis composed himself before his last effort and cleared the bar by the tiniest of margins, sparking wild celebrations with the other pole vaulters and his coaches.
"It's better than I could have imagined," said Duplantis, who is unbeaten in 37 competitions over two years.
"To give you guys this world record is amazing. The crowd were so loud. Thank you so much. I'm just so happy."
Duplantis has dominated the men's pole vault for the last six years, first breaking Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie's world record of 6.16m in February 2020.
Since then, he has bettered the record in one-centimetre increments as it is understood Duplantis receives sponsorship bonuses every time he breaks the world record.
Designated World Athletics meetings also hand out bonuses of up to $100,000 (£74,000), plus the competition award.
Duplantis is also just the second man after Ukraine's Sergey Bubka to win three consecutive world outdoor pole vault titles.
Bubka broke the world record 17 times over a 10-year span between 1984 and 1994, something Duplantis is on course to better.
Greece's Emmanouil Karalis took silver with a best jump of 6.00m, after three close attempts at clearing 6.10m, 6.15m and 6.20m to try and upset Duplantis.
Australia's Kurtis Marschall claimed bronze for the second consecutive World Championships.
Duplantis' pole vault world record in pictures
Elsewhere on Monday, Switzerland's Ditaji Kambundji shocked the field by winning the women's 100m hurdles. New Zealand's Geordie Beamish took a surprise victory in the men's 3000m steeplechase and Canada's Camryn Rogers successfully defended her hammer throw world title.
The men's marathon was decided by a photo finish with Tanzania's Alphonce Felix Simbu pipping Germany's Amanol Petros by only 0.03s.
British trio Josh Kerr, Jake Wightman and Neil Gourley progressed to the men's 1500m final after two tightly contested semi-finals.
Defending champion Kerr is one of the big favourites for Wednesday's final which is one of Britain's biggest chances to win gold this week in Tokyo.
