Mondo Duplantis Hits New Heights With ‘claw’ After 14th Pole Vault World Record

The rod vault title was 2 hours and 20 minutes aged erstwhile Mondo Duplantis yet sewage superior astatine these World Athletics Championships. The barroom had conscionable been pushed six metres. And truthful Mondo reached into his kitbag and dug retired nan footwear he calls “the Claw”.

It is simply a typical shoe, pinch a spike protruding from nan extremity of it, which he only takes it retired erstwhile he sniffs a world grounds lurking successful nan air.

At that constituent 5 men were still fighting for nan world title. But aft Duplantis had cleared 6.10m and 6.15m nan golden badge was his. Now nan barroom was pushed to 6.30m and Swede’s 14th world grounds was on.

Duplantis puts connected “the Claw” shoes because it intends that successful his 20 strides, he tin get up to velocity quicker, works nan rod quicker and get moreover higher – providing nan method is right. But he doesn’t deterioration nan footwear each nan clip because nan first version, introduced past year, had a metallic spike that would sometimes lacerate his manus aliases limb connected nan measurement down.

Nowadays nan spike is protected by a integrative cover. But Duplantis has a routine. And he wanted to instrumentality to it.

The Swede’s first effort grounded by nan tiniest of margins. The 2nd was moreover closer. As he prepared for nan last attempt, nan Greek jock Emmanouil Karalis, who had taken metallic pinch a six metre clearance, blew a instrumentality successful his face.

It was time. And Duplantis was equipped pinch a 2nd limb – a stiffer rod to thief him get higher. The crowd roared and past gasped. Duplantis was over. And soon he was charging astir nan way and punching nan sky, pinch half-a-dozen TV cameramen trying to pursuit him down.

Duplantis soars connected his measurement to much history. Photograph: Paweł Kopczyński/AFP/Getty Images

He ran to his fiancee Desiré Inglander and kissed her. Then he told nan 60,000 crowd he loved them too.

“I americium conscionable truthful happy,” he said. “I wanted to travel backmost to Tokyo because I knew it was a awesome city. But it’s amended than I ever imagined. Thank you guys truthful much, this was nan biggest dream ever travel existent to me.”

And, astatine nan Paris Olympics past year, nan millions watching astir nan world felt privileged to stock it pinch him too.