Duplantis left his audience without a new pole vault world record

Swedish Armand Duplantis, universal pole vault record holder, was unable to show the audience a new world record who braved the rain, cold and wind that marked the meeting in Stockholm, the seventh meeting of the Diamond League, after failing in their three attempts at 6.23 meters.

Neither the more than two-hour delay in which the pole vault competition started due to rain or the problems with the bar during the test or, even, the protests of some protesters entering the final of the 400 hurdles, nothing stopped the spectators from going to the Olympic stadium in Stockholm to see their idol.

A Duplantis that seemed to go through the four hours that the pole contest lasted for all possible moods. If at first it seemed fun to watch the downpour cling to a hot drink, the Scandinavian pole vaulter gradually turned to nervousness as the delay accumulated.

Armand Duplantis seemed really angry after seeing the difficulty of the judges in setting the bar at 5.72 for Brazilian Thiago Braz’s jump and forced him to continue waiting to enter the scene.

But if the Swedish athlete, current Olympic, world and continental champion, has shown one thing, It was his mental strength to abstract himself from everything that was happening around him and jump the first 5.62, 5.82, 5.95 and 6.05 meters.

A score, it was the latter that ensured him victory, but Duplantis wanted to give his fans something more and despite everything he had experienced throughout the afternoon, he asked to set the bar at 6.23 meters, one centimeter more than the world record obtained by the Swede. founded on February 23 in Clermont-Ferrand (France).

In the first two attempts, 23-year-old Armand Duplantis failed to initiate the flighta clear example of the magnitude of the success he was attempting.

The Swede did reach the bar on his third attempt, but knocked the bar off with his feet, preventing him from delivering the world record he wanted to award this Sunday to his fans, who had to live to see the victory. of his idol.

CEH RECORDS EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE WIN

A feat that could not be repeated by another great star of Swedish athletics, the discus thrower Daniel Stahlthe current Olympic champion, who had to settle for second place (67.57) behind the world champion, Slovenian Kristjan Ceh, who won with a best attempt of 69.83 meters.

A mark that allowed Ceh to chain his eighth consecutive victory in the Diamond League, which the Slovenian already won last year with a complete victory after taking first place in the five events played, including final held in Zurich.

A record weak compared to the figures of Croatian Sandra Perkovic, double Olympic and world champion, who added her 46th victory in the Diamond League, after winning the Swedish capital with a mark of 64.49 meters ahead of Dutch Jorinde van Klinken, second with 62.96

BAKKALI AND AMUSAN DID NOT FAIL

The Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali, current Olympic and world champion, who won the final of the 3,000 meter hurdles with a time of 8:09.84 minutes, also did not disappoint at the Stockholm Olympic stadium.

A far cry from the meeting record, 7:59.42 set in August 2007 by Kenyan Paul Koech, was the goal set by the event organizers themselves.

But the rain, cold and wind that marked the meeting prevented El Bakkali, who had already run in May in Rabat in 7:56.68, from breaking the eight-minute barrier.

A circumstance that did not deter the 27-year-old Moroccan from a clear victory ahead of Ethiopians Getnet Wale, second in 8:12.27, and Abrham Sime, third with a mark of 8:16.82 minutes.

For his part, Nigerian Tobi Amusan, current world champion and universal record holder, won the final of the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 12.52 seconds.

Five hundredths more than his best course record, the 12.47 he repeated last Tuesday in Ostrava (Czech Republic) and on Friday in Lausanne (Switzerland), and 21 hundredths off the best world record of the year, the 12.31 signed last year. month of May by Puerto Rican Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.