2024 Stockholm Diamond League: Mondo Duplantis wins at home but narrowly misses out on pole vault world record
A total of 83 athletics world records had been broken at the Stockholm Stadium - the most of any stadium on the planet. But, despite the home crowd willing him on, Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis could not add an 84th at the Stockholm Diamond League on Sunday 2 June.
Duplantis, the dominant force in men's pole vault since 2020 when he set his first world record, soared over at 6.00m to secure another Diamond League victory as he chases a fourth overall title in a row. However, while this was another brilliant performance from the American-born Swede, he will walk away with just a hint of disappointment after he grazed the bar on his three attempts at 6.25m - one centimetre above his current world record set in April this year.
Despite not breaking the world record, the fervour of the crowd at this home Diamond League will have given Duplantis a glimpse into what the upcoming Olympics in Paris will be like, as he prepares for his first Games in front of crowds after the COVID-disrupted Tokyo 2020.
"In a way it's going to feel like my first Olympics," the athlete told Olympics.com after the competition in Stockholm. "Which is super cool because I get to go to my first Olympics but already still be the Olympic gold medallist.
"So that's a bonus, but I think it's going to be amazing, I'm super excited about it. I don't even really know what to expect and I think that's what makes it so fun also."
While Duplantis was again in a league of his own, he did face a challenge from the USA's Sam Kendricks who cleared 5.90m to take second place, with third claimed by fellow American KC Lightfoot with a vault of 5.80m.
Duplantis shines once again but ultimate prize just out of reach
The athletics world has become accustomed to seeing Duplantis win, and victory once again belonged to the 24-year-old in Sweden's capital. Yet it was clear from the gasps that met each narrowly-missed attempt at a new world record, that the crowd that filled the 112-year-old stadium in Sweden's capital was hoping for something more.
As the announcer rallied the thousands of fans with repeated chants of 'Mondo' almost the entire stadium stood up as Duplantis touched the bar on his three attempts at 6.25m.
"I know that there is more to do and I am just trying to gather as much information as possible from my jumping," he told reporters. "If I jump above 6 metres and I feel I have a good shot, I'll give the world record a try. I am just trying to put together the best jump that I possibly can."
This time the world record wasn't to be. However, with Paris 2024 a matter of weeks away, there are more opportunities to create history just around the corner.