Armand Duplantis captures the crowd, and another world record, at the Olympics

As action drew to a close at the Stade de France on Monday, there was one final decision to be made, and all eyes were on one athlete: Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, who had already won gold in the pole vault and defended his title at the Tokyo Olympics, had one final attempt to jump 6.25 meters, a height that would have broken his own world record.

As a crowd of more than 70,000 people applauded in unison, Duplantis sprinted down the runway and soared into the sky, spurred on by himself and the two other skaters cheering alongside him on the podium.

And once again he made his mark on the record.

As Duplantis hit the ground, he raised his right arm in celebration, learning he had set another world record. The Stade de France crowd roared, and the Swede roared at his accomplishment. Duplantis then sprinted to his family and loved ones in the stands before taking a victory lap with silver medalist Sam Kendricks of the United States and bronze medalist Emanouil Karalis of Greece.

Then it was time for the obligatory photo shoot for the record books, but this wasn’t the first time Duplantis had done so.

Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

This is Duplantis’ ninth world record. He first broke the world record in 2020 with a vault of 6.17 meters in Poland. Since then, Duplantis has been beating previous world records by a centimeter at a time. In April of this year, he set a record of 6.24 meters in China, and on Monday it was his turn to reach 6.25 meters, which he achieved on his third try and won the gold medal.

And there may be some great economic reasons behind this strategy.

As Featured The Wall Street Journal on mondayEach time a new world record is set, a generous prize money is awarded, ranging from $30,000 to $100,000, depending on the event.

So when Duplantis sets his sights on his next world record, don’t be surprised if his attempt reaches 6.26 metres.