Sweden’s Armand Duplantis broke his own men’s pole vault world record in the opening Diamond League meeting of the season in Xiamen, China.
Duplantis, 24, cleared 6.24m, one centimetre above the mark he set in last September’s Diamond League final.
It was the eighth time the reigning Olympic and world champion has broken the outdoor world record.
The US-born athlete is aiming to win a second Olympic gold at the Paris Games this summer. Duplantis, whose stunning start to the outdoor track and field programme followed a second world indoor title in March, said it was “exciting to get my season going”.
He entered the competition in Xiamen at 5.62m and also cleared 5.82m and 6.00m before being roared on by the crowd at the Egret Stadium to set a new world mark at his first attempt. American Sam Kendricks finished second with 5.82, while China’s Bokai Huang was third with 5.72.
He’s got “God’s hand on his back” said Kendricks of Duplantis, and added: “I’ve seen him from a 14-year-old come all the way up and it makes me actually ever joyous to be even just second place behind the world record holder because I know he works so darned hard.
“He goes all over the place and he’s becoming the true champion we all want him to be.” (BBC sport)