Armand Duplantis breaks world in pole vault while Gadaf Tsegay sets world record in women’s 500 meters

By Odah Peter

World pole vault champion and Olympic champion Armando Duplantis broke the world record by leaping 6.23 meters at the Diamond League finals on Sunday, September 17, while Gudav Tsegay broke the women’s 5000-meter world record. Swedish superstar Duplantis broke the world record of 6.22 meters, set in France in February, by one centimeter. He has now set seven world records. Five of those records were set indoors, and his two outdoor world records were set at Hayward Field in Eugene, where he won the world title last year.

“Right now, I’m here in Hayward going 2-for-2 on the world record,” Duplantis said. It has absolutely everything. It has a history and a modern feel. “The track is really fast, the crowd and the energy is great.” Duplantis defended his world title with a 6.10m clear in Budapest last month and 6.12m in Ostrava in June. Since then, he has continued a series of attempts at 6.23m. Mr. M said he had failed in February, including at last weekend’s Brussels competition, but the smaller field in the final had given him an advantage in his record attempt. “I think it’s much easier to refresh at this world-record altitude,” he said.

Duplantis had already sealed his victory with a 6.02 throw, his 73rd career free throw from over 20 feet. At 6:23 a.m., he ran up the runway on his first attempt and crossed the runway to cheers from the crowd. “I’m just trying to jump high,” Duplantis said, believing he can continue to break the record. “My limits are very high, so I hope I can continue to jump well and jump higher than I did today.”

Ethiopia’s Tsega won the 5,000 meters in 14:00.21, thrilling the crowd. The reigning 10,000m world champion improved the 5,000m record of 14:05.20, set by Kenya’s Faith Kipyego on June 9 in Paris, by nearly five seconds.