Pole vault’s puzzle-master aims for the stars

Already an Olympic gold-medallist and world record holder, Armand Duplantis isn’t satisfied. The 22-year-old is piecing together all facets of his game in a bid to become the greatest of all time

As a pole vaulter, Armand Duplantis is accustomed to soaring high. His ambitions are just as lofty. The 22-year-old Swede has made no secret of wanting to be “the best pole vaulter that ever lived”. Such a statement, from the lips of most athletes, would be deemed arrogant, even deluded.

But Duplantis has shown very early in his career that he is already among the sport’s elite. An Olympic gold medallist — he was one of the brightest stars in Tokyo last year — he has also broken the world record twice, clearing 6.17m to top Renaud Lavillenie’s mark back in February 2020 and surpassing it with a 6.18m effort a week later on the World Indoor Tour. He then bettered Sergey Bubka’s 26-year-old outdoor mark with a clearance of 6.15m in September 2020. He went undefeated that year and proved it was no flash in the pan with an incredible 2021: 15 wins, including Olympic gold, and 14 six-metre clearances.

Duplantis has no intention of resting on his laurels. “I want to do everything you can in this sport. I want to win everything there is to win, and do it more times than anyone else has done it,” he said. “If you don’t know the history of pole vault, that is really big shoes to fill, when you are following Renaud Lavillenie and Sergey Bubka, people that have won many global titles.”