Olympic pole vault champion Armand “Mondo” Duplantis soared to another Diamond League victory on Thursday night, June 12 in Oslo.
The 25-year-old Swede cleared 6.15 metres to clinch the win, defeating a competitive field that included Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis and Australia’s Kurtis Marschall. Karalis finished second with a jump of 5.82m, while Marschall settled for third after clearing 5.72m.
Dominant from the Start
Duplantis strategically skipped the lower opening heights of 5.40m and 5.72m. He entered the competition at 5.62m, clearing it with ease on his first attempt.
By the time he approached his second jump, the contest had whittled down to just a few elite names, including 2012 Olympic gold medallist Renaud Lavillenie, who bowed out after 5.72m, and Paris 2024 bronze medallist Karalis.
After clearing 5.92m effortlessly, Duplantis set his sights on a new meeting record. Though uncharacteristically needing two attempts at 6.03m, he successfully sailed over to surpass his own previous Oslo mark of 6.02m.
“I am really glad about it. It was a really nice jump,” Duplantis reflected in a post race interview.
“I didn’t have my mind super fixated on any height. It just felt like the conditions tonight made it possible to go for the meet record, and this was by far my best jump in Oslo.”
He capped his night with a smooth clearance of 6.15m on his second attempt before opting to call it a night due to dropping temperatures.
Stockholm Beckons
Next up for Duplantis is the highly anticipated Diamond League stop in Stockholm on Sunday, where he’s openly targeting his own world record of 6.24m, set earlier this year.
And in a moment that turned heads post-race, the Swedish superstar suggested that achieving a new milestone in his home country might be the perfect finale.
“On Sunday in Stockholm, it would be an absolute dream to break the world record,” Duplantis said. “In fact, I could retire if I do! The forecast is good, I’m feeling good, and tonight shows I’m jumping well — so who knows? It may be possible. I need to build on tonight and get ready for the big one.”
Meanwhile, American Sam Kendricks, a two-time Olympic medallist, struggled to find his rhythm in Oslo. After clearing 5.40m and 5.62m, Kendricks was unable to go over 5.72m, bowing out earlier than expected.
As the track and field world now turns its attention to Stockholm, all eyes will be on Duplantis, not just to see if he can extend his dominance, but whether a world record jump might also signal a fairytale pause, or perhaps end, to one of the sport’s most glittering careers.