Duplantis was able to successfully clear the bar at 5.91 meters. At the same time, Duplantis defeated world record holder, Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie, thus leaving him in second place, with 5.86 meters. This marks the second time in his athletic career that Duplantis has triumphed over Lavillenie in an outdoor competition.
Last weekend, Duplantis won his first IAAF Diamond League competition in Stockholm, where he cleared 5.86 meters, and bested American pole vaulter and 2017 World Champion Sam Kendricks, where he left him in second place with 5.81 meters.
This year, Duplantis has improved his outdoor personal best and world junior record to 5.93 meters, proving that he is a true force to be reckoned with in the contemporary men’s pole vault competition. Most impressive is the fact that he is only 18 years old.
Duplantis is certainly the “One to Watch” this year in the pole vault at this upcoming 2018 European Athletics Championships that will be held in Berlin, Germany, this August.
