Former LSU track and field star Armand Duplantis, who represents Sweden in national competitions, set a world record in the pole vault by clearing 6.25 meters in his third attempt at that height.
MONDO DUPLANTIS ENDS THE NIGHT WITH A NEW WORLD RECORD. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/0egeRdxphW
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2024
Gravity? Never heard of it. pic.twitter.com/xXTYFtwnwm
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 5, 2024
ARMAND DUPLANTIS SETS THE MEN'S POLE VAULT WORLD RECORD pic.twitter.com/aoSEu8YXrL
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 5, 2024
Duplantis secured gold earlier with a 6.10m vault but wanted to surpass the previous world record (6.24m) he set at a Diamond League event in Xiamen, China on April 20.
WORLD RECORD!!
— Panam Sports (@PanamSports) April 20, 2024
Armand Duplantis has just opened up his season with a World Record in the men’s Pole Vault in Xiamen, soaring over 6.24m!!
And you saw it live from Xiamen with the stories of @solebacarreza, through the Panam Sports Channel. pic.twitter.com/qrLh2m1Ge3
Duplantis, 24, was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and went to LSU as a freshman before turning pro. His mother, Helena, is a Swedish former heptathlon athlete, while his father, Greg, is a former pole vaulter who recorded his personal best (5.80m) in July 1993.
Duplantis' Olympic feat is one of several times he's raised the bar, literally and figuratively, in the men's pole vault. He has set the world record on nine occasions, first with a 6.17m vault in Torun, Poland, in February 2020.
Per Nola.com's Scott Rabalais, with his historic performance on Monday, Duplantis became the second two-time Olympic men's pole vault gold medalist, joining American Bob Richards (1952 Helsinki, 1956 Melbourne), and the third to break the men's pole vault world record at the Olympics (Frank Foss, 1920; Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz, 1980)
He previously won gold in Tokyo at the pandemic-delayed 2021 Olympics medals. Duplantis also has three European Championships first-place finishes (2018 Berlin, 2022 Munich, 2024 Rome), as well as three Diamond League titles, and four combined World Championships (indoor and outdoor) gold medals.
By all measures, Duplantis is the best pole vaulter the world has seen. His mammoth final vault at the 2024 Paris Olympics could be the enduring memory of his already legendary career.
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It might have been a good thing the Chicago Bears didn’t play Caleb Williams on Sunday. The Bears might need to hide their second-year quarterback as he irons out his wrinkles in the pre-snap process and with accuracy issues. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft struggled with timing and accuracy during the Bears’ joint practice with the Miami Dolphins on Friday. Caleb Williams was inaccurate in the red zone against no defenders On Sunday, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson chose not to play second-year quarterback Caleb Williams against the Dolphins in their first preseason game. Instead, Johnson led a workout with Williams and wide receivers Rome Odunze and DJ Moore before the game. Per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears ran a total of 87 plays during the workout. All of the plays were routes in the air with no defenders on the field for the scripted practice. Despite going against no defenders bringing pressure or guarding his receivers, Williams struggled to hit his targets in the red zone. "Williams would stand next to Johnson, who would give him the play," Biggs wrote. "Then, the quarterback simulated a huddle with the player (only one ran a route on each snap) and gave the play call. They’d break the huddle, go to the line of scrimmage, Williams would simulate pre-snap actions and then the play would be run… "Before ending the session with eight deep balls, there was a 25-play set of snaps in the red zone. One thing Williams struggled to connect on was out routes to Moore and Odunze near the goal line. Those throws were not close and Williams consistently led the receivers too much." A closed-door problem for the Chicago Bears The throws weren’t close during routes on air… in the red zone? Williams wasn’t ready to take the field for the preseason game. For all of the flak he’s been getting from practice reports, the quarterback would have been relentlessly mocked for having these issues shown during an NFL Network broadcast. Biggs’ report is troubling, with a month to go before the season. Williams has much to improve upon, and the Bears are very much trying to do so without cameras present for a reason.
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