The first World Cup final in pole vaulter Mino Flon’s career turned out to be a disappointment. The Dutchman did not exceed the starting height of 5.55 meters at night from Sunday to Monday and thus was eliminated in Eugene. Armand Duplantis took the gold on the final day and broke his own world record by one inch to 6.21 metres.
The 28-year-old convincingly jumped 5.75 in qualifying on Friday with new poles he bought in the US. He was not allowed to take his old wand with him on the plane in Schiphol.
After those playoffs, Flon was hoping for a final, but he didn’t even get as high on the scoreboard. The problem was that it always failed to access the input well.
“I have no idea how to achieve that,” Flon said. “There was a lot of potential here. I went for a medal, but I’m going home with the last place in the final.”
Flon, who holds the Dutch record of 5.96 metres, reached the Olympic final in Tokyo last year, but even then he quickly fell out of competition.
Duplant ravings of joy after the record jump
While Vloon is long gone, Duplantis has risen to his favorite status. His record jumping 6.21 meters was one centimeter higher than the 6.20 meters he achieved at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade in March.
As is often the case, Duplantis was the only one who managed to float at a height of 6 meters. American Christopher Nielsen took the silver with a height of 5.94. The bronze went to Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines, who needed more attempts, for 5.94.
The 22-year-old Duplantis broke the championship record first by jumping 6.06 meters in one go. Then the Swede set the standard at a world record high, knowing that he would cash a check for $100,000 (about €98,000) if he succeeded. On his first attempt he broke the bar, but his second jump was flawless. Joyfully excited, he celebrated his record jump.
Armand Duplantis stands with the new world record.
Armand Duplantis stands with the new world record.
picture: Getty Images
