Duplantis seals 14th world record & third world title

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Armand Duplantis has won 12 senior international titles ByHarry PooleBBC Sport journalist in TokyoHistory-maker Armand Duplantis soared to his 14th world record with his final attempt as the Swedish superstar continued his pole vault domination by winning a third consecutive world title.A captivated audience in Tokyo remained in the stadium long after Monday night's other events had concluded to watch the sport's modern-day great become the first human to clear the 6.30m barrier.The 25-year-old has now claimed the past eight global men's pole vault gold medals on offer across both indoor and outdoor competitions following this triumph in the Japanese capital.Returning to the stadium where he achieved the first of those major successes four years ago, Duplantis owned his latest moment in the spotlight with his charisma and breathtaking talent.Media caption, 'What a legend!' Duplantis clears 6.30m to break world recordThe two-time Olympic champion sealed gold with a first-time clearance at 6.15m to end Emmanouil Karalis' admirable challenge then raised the bar to one centimetre higher than he had ever gone before.Such is the respect from his competitors, the Greek runner-up – who has risen to fourth on the discipline's all-time list amid his pursuit of Duplantis – held a fan for his rival between his agonisingly close first and second attempts.With all eyes fixed upon him, a hush of expectation was replaced by rhythmic applause upon Duplantis' request as he prepared for his final attempt. Japan's National Stadium then erupted as he leapt up from the mat after his successful effort and began his celebrations."To be able to give you guys this world record is just amazing," Duplantis told the crowd, who had stayed beyond 23:00 local time to watch him seek the record.A fourth world record of 2025 by Duplantis is the most occasions he has improved the mark in a single year in his career, which seemingly continues with no limit in sight.Duplantis, widely known by his nickname 'Mondo', made clear his intentions upon reaching the final. The world record was "on the cards" in the showpiece.Everybody else had already made that assumption.World record talk has replaced any discussion of the destination of men's pole vault gold medals since he first succeeded Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie as the world record holder by clearing 6.17m in February 2020.And, with World Athletics offering a $100,000 world record bonus, on top of the $70,000 awarded to gold medallists at the championship, there was no lack of motivation to deliver in front of another expectant global audience.Duplantis has already won every major gold available to him, while last year he became the first man to retain the Olympic pole vault title for 68 years at Paris 2024.Now it is a case of how many he will end up with – and, perhaps more pertinently, how high he can go.Athletics