It’s been three years…
Three years on from his last performance at Charléty, Swedish athlete Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis will again be competing at the Wanda Diamond League Meeting de Paris on Sunday 7 July. It was at Charléty, where he improved upon his own world record in the pole vault (6.24 m). Duplantis is poised to take on his global benchmark once more, less than a month before the Olympic Games in Paris.
The 2023 edition of the Wanda Diamond League Meeting de Paris was historic, with two world records (Faith Kipyegon in the 5000m and Lamecha Girma in the 3000m steeplechase) and the world-best performance of all time (Jakob Ingebrigtsen over 2 miles) in a fully booked stadium. So, what better way to reach new heights in athletics than the presence of Mondo Duplantis in the Charléty Stadium on Sunday 7 July 2024? The pole-vaulter is the first star to form part of the line-up for this French Athletics Federation (FFA) meet.
The presence of the Olympic and double world champion is an event in itself. Each time he hits the track, the Swede has the potential to make a bid for the world record. He has held onto since 2020, when he cleared 6.17m in Toruń (Poland), extending it centimetre by centimetre over the course of his attempts. The last time he raised his game again was on April 20 at the Wanda Diamond League Meeting in Xiamen, China. After dominating the winter season, without actually reaching his usual standards, Mondo Duplantis made a thundering comeback to outdoor competition by clearing 6.24m on his first attempt. He then racked up another victory in Suzhou (China) on 27 April thanks to a jump of six metres.
6,01 m in 2021 in Paris
A bar that is as symbolic as it is legendary. The 24-year-old athlete, coached by his father Greg, has successfully cleared it in (nearly) every one of his performances (49 times already!). A benchmark feat that thrills spectators, including those packed into the grandstands of the Charléty Stadium on 28 August 2021. On that particular day, swept up by the energy of a frenzied crowd, he secured the meeting record with a best jump of 6.01 m, before having an unsuccessful crack at 6.19. It was one centimetre higher than his world record at the time. The brand-new Olympic champion in Tokyo, was soaring again in the French capital. “It was very important for me to switch straight back to ‘victory’ mode,” he whispered into the journalist’s microphone immediately after his 6.01 m. “So how do things differ from Lausanne? Well, that’s down to you, the public.”
On Sunday 7 July, with less than a month until the Olympic athletics events kick off in the Stade de France. Some three years after his last appearance in Charléty, Duplantis will be pitted against France’s top pole-vaulters. The French will be sure to count on the support of a fusion of fans crammed into the arena. That said, there is absolutely no doubt that the Swedish athlete will also be entitled to a very warm welcome. One that is equal to his immense talent and his showmanship.
