Armand Duplantis failed in his bid to improve his own world record, but the Swedish pole vaulter still delighted home fans with yet another 6m-plus victory at the Diamond League meet in Stockholm on Sunday.
Duplantis cleared 6.02 metres before having three efforts at 6.19m, failing all three times in his bid to better the 6.18m mark he made last year.
Two-time world champion Sam Kendricks of the United States took second with 5.92m on countback from 2012 Olympic gold medallist Renaud Lavillenie of France.
“I feel good about today, being here with my family and friends, and everybody watching," said Duplantis, known by his nickname “Mondo".
“It was really important for me to just kind of go out here and try to get over six metres, and then maybe take a few better shots at the world record, but overall 6.02 was a nice jump so I can’t complain so much."
Just 24 other vaulters in history have managed to clear six metres, and Duplantis’ unerring consistency over that height marks him as a clear favourite for gold come the July 23-August 8 Tokyo Olympics.
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