CNN
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Centimeter by centimeter, Mondo Duplantis is soaring closer to the sky and securing his legacy as the greatest pole vaulter in history.
The 25-year-old Swede broke his own world record for the 11th time on Friday, clearing the bar at 6.27 meters while competing at the All Star Perche in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
“I just felt really good,” he told reporters, according to Reuters. “What can I say, I came here to do it. I put everything in place to do it. The run-up worked really well. I just did it.”
Such is Duplantis’ dominance, he seems virtually assured of winning every time he steps onto the track; the only real unknown is whether he can set yet another world record.
On Friday, he easily cleared the bar at 5.65m, 5.91m, 6.02m, and 6.07m on his first attempts while Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis set a national record of 6.02m to finish in second place. Only six men cleared the bar at 5.91m or higher – the most ever in a single competition.
Then, once he had secured the win, Duplantis simply raised the bar 20 centimetres and yet again cleared it on his first attempt as the crowd raised their arms in celebration and fireworks went off beside the crash mat.
Remarkably, his latest record came on the same day that he released his debut single “Bop,” which played over the stadium’s speakers as he made his record-breaking jump.
“When I made this song a couple of months ago, I thought this would be a perfect song to jump to here. That’s why I rushed it out,” he said.
Since first breaking the world record in February 2020, Duplantis has made a habit of improving it in one-centimeter increments, pushing the boundaries of the sport.
Next, he will look to claim a third consecutive world indoor title when he competes at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China later this month.