UCLA signee secures pair of victories at Norway U-20 Championships after national pole vault record in Berlin

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Sondre Guttormsen isn’t just the Norwegian record holder in the pole vault, the Davis Senior CA graduate is also one of the most versatile track and field athletes in his country’s history.

Although most of the attention at the European Outdoor Championships was focused on two other teenagers – Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Sweden’s Armand “Mondo” Duplantis – the 19-year-old Guttormsen also made history in Berlin and followed it up this past weekend with more success in Oslo.

Guttormsen cleared 18 feet, 10.25 inches (5.75m) to tie for sixth place in the European men’s pole vault final, eclipsing the 1996 Norwegian record of 18-9.25 (5.72m) set by Trond Barthel.

It was the best performance by a sixth-place finisher in European Championships history, in addition to elevating the UCLA-bound Guttormsen to the No. 2 all-time prep performer, trailing only Duplantis at 19-10.25 (6.05m).

“It means a lot to say I am the best vaulter ever from Norway. That’s something I also like a lot about track; that you not only compete against the people competing now, but also everyone that has ever done the sport in the past,” Guttormsen said. “I never thought about the outcome while I was warming up. I knew I was in great shape physically and I knew that if I was relaxed and confident in myself I could do great things this competition. However, I would never guess that I would break the national record in the European final of 2018. I knew I could potentially break the record if everything was right, but I didn’t think it would happen in Berlin.”

Equally as significant for Guttormsen was being able to watch one of the most memorable pole vault competitions in history, with Duplantis equaling the No. 2 all-time outdoor clearance to prevail against authorized neutral athlete Timur Morgunov and France’s Renaud Lavillenie.

“After I jumped 5.75m, I was super happy and kind of in shock of what I had done. Just hearing my name from the official saying, ‘Renaud is jumping, Sondre is up,’ or something like that, was very cool and something I never thought would happen,” Guttormsen said. “Just sitting down after I was out watching the other vaulters put on a show was an incredible experience and a memory I will never forget. I have never seen a 6-meter jump in my life and now I have seen three (Mondo 6.00m and 6.05m, Timur 6.00m).”

Duplantis, Morgunov and Lavillenie are all scheduled to compete Friday in the Diamond League final in Brussels, along with Poland’s Piotr Lisek and Pawel Wojciechowski, in addition to Greece’s Konstantinos Filippidis, all of whom finished ahead of Guttormsen in Berlin.

Although Guttormsen won’t be vaulting in Belgium, he returned to competition at Norway’s U-20 Championships, winning two titles and adding a runner-up finish Sunday in Oslo.

Guttormsen only needed to clear 18-1 (5.51m) to win the pole vault gold, in addition to running 14.32 seconds to prevail in the 110-meter hurdles. He also placed second in the long jump with a leap of 22-6.50 (6.87m) after qualifying with a mark Friday of 22-7 (6.88m).

Guttormsen will have two more opportunities before enrolling at UCLA to increase his national pole vault record Sept. 4 at an IAAF World Challenge meet in Zagreb, Croatia, and Sept. 12 at LentosJump, a street vaulting competition in Linz, Austria.

He’ll then shift focus during his first year of college toward potential showdowns at the NCAA Division 1 Championships with South Dakota junior Chris Nilsen and Duplantis, should he compete for LSU as a freshman instead of turning professional.

“I am very much looking forward to competing in the NCAA and I look forward to traveling and competing with the team, something which will be a new and fun experience for me,” Guttormsen said. “Chris, Mondo and I, and more, will all push each other to great heights, which will be awesome.”