Pole vault superstar Mondo Duplantis is targeting another record-breaking leap at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, saying he plans to attempt 6.30 meters in Monday’s final.
The 25-year-old Swede, who has already reset the world record multiple times, cruised through Saturday’s qualifiers with just two effortless jumps, clearing 5.75m.
“I feel like I didn’t really have to push it so hard,” Duplantis said. “The jumps felt nice and easy. The track feels amazing, it feels super fast.”
Asked about going for 6.30m—one centimeter higher than the record he set last month in Budapest—he replied: “That’s what I want to do. I feel like it’s possible… I feel like it’s in the cards.”
The Tokyo crowd gave Duplantis a warm reception, a stark contrast to the silent, spectator-less 2021 Olympics where he won his first global title. “I’m so happy that we’re able to have spectators and stuff. You get the real experience with them. Super beautiful and energetic and better than I could have even imagined,” he said.
Duplantis, already a two-time Olympic and world champion, remains the man to beat, with rivals like Olympic bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis, American Sam Kendricks, and Australia’s Kurtis Marschall also clearing 5.75m in qualifiers.
Pole vault has rarely drawn global attention, but Duplantis continues to captivate fans—most memorably with his record-breaking finale at the Paris Games last year before 69,000 roaring fans.