Duplantis Clears 6.22m With Room To Spare In France

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Armand "Mondo" Duplantis broke the world record in the men's pole vault for the sixth time Saturday with an emphatic clearance of 20 feet, 4.75 inches (6.22m) at All Star Perche, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting, in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

Duplantis soared over the record height with inches of daylight between himself and the bar. 

Former world record holder Renaud Lavillenie dashed onto the mats and tackled Duplantis as they celebrated the achievement. 

Duplantis stopped, of course, even while the crowd implored him to take the bar higher. 

With a one-centimeter-at-a-time approach, Duplantis can collect his world record bonus each time and narrow the gap between himself and the great Sergey Bubka, who broke 35 world records indoors and out. (Bubka took the record height from 5.85m to 6.14m; Duplantis has taken it from 6.17m to 6.22m.).