Duplantis thrives on Tokyo energy to break world record again

Tokyo - Armand “Mondo” Duplantis (right) said a raucous Tokyo crowd was “the difference maker” as he set yet another world pole vault record on Monday, four years after triumphing at the pandemic-troubled Olympics in the same stadium.

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The US-born Swede delighted the Japanese crowd with a new mark of 6.30 metres as he defended his world title with ease and then went higher than any vaulter in history.

Duplantis won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, delayed a year because of Covid, but he did so amid ghostly empty stands with fans locked out to prevent the spread of the virus.

Fast forward four years and the scene could not have been more different, with over 50 000 inside the National Stadium roaring the 25-year-old on to glory.

Duplantis ran into the stands after clinching the record and the US-born Swede said the experience had “exceeded my wildest dreams”.

He had almost broken the world record in that Olympic final in 2021, defying the near silence.