Mondo Duplantis flies into men’s pole vault final in bid to defend Olympic title at Paris 2024
Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis cruised into the men’s pole vault final as the Swedish superstar looks to defend his Olympic title.
The imperious 24-year-old is the dominant force of pole vault and made light work of qualification on Saturday (3 August) at Paris 2024.
Duplantis is the world record holder at 6.24m and was one of 10 athletes to clear 5.75m at the Stade de France.
Twelve athletes will feature overall in Monday’s final, with USA’s Sam Kendricks and the Philippines’ Ernest John Obiena both out to shock Duplantis.
The benchmark to reach the final was never going to be an issue for Duplantis, who warmed up with a 5.60 and waited thereafter before clearing 5.75 to make light work of qualification.
“It’s amazing, the crowd was unbelievable,” Duplantis told Olympics.com.
“I’ve never really felt anything like it for a qualifying round, I can only imagine how it’s going to be for the final.”
Five more pole vaulters cleared 5.75 at the first time of asking, with Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen equalling his season’s best in doing so.
Obiena was also in that camp, the 28-year-old who won silver at last year's World Championships behind Duplantis.
“It was great,” Obiena told Olympics.com. “I feel good, I made the final, that’s all that matters.”
Kendricks, the silver medallist at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, required a second crack at 5.75 to advance.