Sweden’s Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis successfully defended his Olympic pole vault title, smashing his own world record and joyously celebrating with his girlfriend and teammates.
Duplantis outperformed silver medalist Sam Kendricks from the USA and Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who secured the bronze, by clearing 6.10m on his first attempt.
This impressive feat surpassed Thiago Braz’s Olympic record of 6.03m from the Rio 2016 Games before he attempted to break his own world record of 6.24m set in April.
With all other events concluded for the evening and 80,000 fans creating an electrifying atmosphere in Paris, he cleared 6.25m on his third and final attempt.
The Louisiana-born Swedish-American quickly got up from the mat and dashed towards the stands, leaping into the air before embracing his girlfriend, model Desire Inglander.
Sweden’s Armand Duplantis embraces his girlfriend Desire Inglander after winning gold
The pole vault champion then celebrated wildly with one of his Sweden teammates in Paris
As the pair kissed amidst the cheering crowd, Duplantis was soon surrounded by his Swedish teammates.
Excitedly, the 24-year-old engaged in playful shoving and light punches to the chest with one of his compatriots.
Additionally, Duplantis celebrated by mimicking Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec, whose relaxed style has captivated the internet.
The pole vault sensation has now earned his second Olympic title, adding to his impressive collection which includes two world championship gold medals and three European titles.
‘I still can’t believe how amazing that moment was,’ he reflected afterwards. ‘It feels surreal, like an out-of-body experience.’
Duplantis continued, ‘Since I was a child, my dream has been to break the world record at the Olympics.’
‘And I achieved that in front of the most incredible crowd I’ve ever competed before.’
‘I felt exceptionally prepared. I’ve never been more focused than I have in the last three months. Now it’s time to indulge in some food because the celebrations are going to be huge.’
Duplantis, the Louisiana-born Swedish-American, and his girlfriend Desire pictured in 2023
