In Glasgow (Scotland), with the exception of the coronation of the Dutchwoman Femke Bol in the 400 meters, what other victory was more anticipated than that of Armand Duplantis in the pole vault?
Sunday March 3, during the third and final day of the World Indoor Athletics Championships, the Swede, born in Lafayette (Louisiana, United States), once again repelled the competition. With a jump of 6.05 m, he won ahead of the American Sam Kendricks (5.90 m) and the Greek Emmanouil Karalis (5.85 m).
But Armand Duplantis came close to severe disappointment, trying three times to clear a bar at 5.85m, normally an appetizer for him. After another failure at 5.95m, he finally took the lead after his sixth jump of the evening. He then cleared 6.05m on his third attempt. And tackled his world record with a bar of 6.24m. Without success.
The final of this competition did not reach the heights. Only the three medalists jumped 5.85m or higher. However, we cannot reduce the dominance of “Mondo” to a supposed weakness of its rivals.
Some of his opponents are part of the exclusive club of men who have jumped six meters or more. In Scotland there were four: the Americans Sam Kendricks and Christopher Nielsen, the Pole Piotr Lisek and the Filipino Ernest John Obiena. Others like the French Thibaut Collet or the Australian Kurtis Marschall are very close.
Since his defeat while still a student pole vaulter during the 2019 Worlds in Doha – where he finished 2nd – the Duplantis phenomenon has won all the major championships in which he has participated. The list is long: 2021 European Indoor Championships, 2021 Olympic Games, 2022 Indoor World Championships, 2022 European Championships, 2022 and 2023 Outdoor World Championships. It is completed by his very first continental title, in Berlin in 2018 , when he was only 18, and by that of this Sunday, in Glasgow. All this already represents eight gold medals and one silver medal in his career. Just that.
The 24-year-old Swede returns a few more titles to Tsar Sergei Bubka, who won six outdoor and four indoor world titles. But he makes up for it with the appetite of a competitive eater, stuffing himself with victories like others stuffing themselves with hot dogs.
This year he could already overtake the Soviet legend in the queen of competitions. By retaining his Olympic crown in Paris, he would become only the second pole vaulter in history to achieve this feat, almost seventy years after the “flying pastor”, the American Bob Richards. Not to mention that in June, he should aim for a third European title in Rome, a few weeks before the Games.
Disappointment for Thibaut Collet
On the French side, Thibaut Collet had a difficult competition. After an easy entry at 5.65m, he failed three times at 5.75m, appearing to struggle in his run-up.
Three days before entering the competition in Glasgow, the person said he was confident, satisfied with his new consistency: “I have cleared 5.80 m or more 14 times. I am 5th in the world. It’s no longer the same thing. It’s a comfortable position. I am not favorite, rather in the middle of the table. My opponents know that we must not miss each other because otherwise I will be around. »
This addict must not spoil his progress. In the final of the 2023 Worlds in Budapest, he raised his record to 5.90 m to take 5th place. On February 22, this small figure (less than 1.80 m) in the middle of often imposing athletes, got even closer to the peaks. He cleared 5.92m during the All-Star pole vault, the competition organized by Lavillenie.
And he tackled 6.02m three times, narrowly missing becoming the 29th man in history to soar beyond the mythical six-metre mark. “On my third try, it wasn’t much,” he said. I didn’t just go to see what it was like up there. The goal was to cross. I convinced myself that the next time I attempted six meters it would be even better. »
Before the Worlds, he explained that if he did not win a medal in Scotland, his season “would not be a failure. » But, he added, “in case of medals this winter, the pressure will not be the same for the future”. Thibaut Collet will be able to get back to work, remaining in ambush for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.