(Reuters) -Sweden’s Armand Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record on Saturday, clearing 6.22 metres to add one centimetre to his previous mark at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
After knocking the bar in his first two attempts at the height, the 23-year-old Olympic champion cleared the mark with room to spare on the third try, letting out a cheer as the crowd went into a frenzy of celebration.
He had barely touched the mat before a spray of sparklers went off and meet director Renaud Lavillenie, the Olympic champion in 2012, ran to embrace him.
Duplantis had the competition won already when he cleared 6.01 metres on the first try, as Australian Kurtis Marschall finished second with a 5.91 metres leap while the Netherlands’ Menno Vloon took third.
Duplantis set the previous record on his way to winning gold at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July.
Saturday’s effort marks the sixth world record of his career and the 60th time the Swede has cleared six metres or higher, after enjoying his best-ever season debut with a 6.10 metres win to cheer the home fans in Uppsala earlier this month.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)
