Armand Duplantis, the reigning Olympic and world champion in pole vault, put on a show at the Golden Spike athletics meet in the Czech Republic on Tuesday. The 24-year-old Swede, who set a world record of 6.24m in April, came tantalizingly close to breaking the record again as he cleared six metres but narrowly missed his attempt at 6.25m, brushing the bar with his belly on the third try.
Despite falling short of the world record, Duplantis expressed satisfaction with his performance, stating, “I’m happy about the last attempt, it felt quite good. I was actually closer than I thought I was going to be. Gives me confidence going forward.” He also mentioned that the conditions were not ideal for perfect jumps due to the cold and windy weather.
Meanwhile, Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse shone on the wet Ostrava track, winning both the 100 metres and 200 metres races with impressive times. De Grasse clocked 10.10 seconds in the 100 metres and 20.09 seconds in the 200 metres, marking a season best in both events.
Other notable performances at the meet included reigning Olympic champion Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas winning the 400 metres in a season best time of 44.39 seconds, Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek dominating the women’s 400 metres in 50.09 seconds, and Algerian Djamel Sedjati claiming victory in the 800 metres with a world-leading time of 1 minute 43.51 seconds.
Overall, the Golden Spike athletics meet showcased some exceptional talent and thrilling competitions, leaving fans eagerly anticipating more exciting performances in the upcoming events.