No world record, but Armand Duplantis wins 5th straight Diamond League title

Sweden’s Armand Duplantis continued his dominance in men’s pole vault as he clinched victory at the Diamond League final in Zurich on Wednesday, August 27. Although he could not add another world record to his name, the Olympic and world champion once again showed why he remains the man to beat in the discipline.

Duplantis cleared his opening four attempts with remarkable ease, sailing past 5.50m, 5.80m, 5.90m, and then 6.00m. His bid to surpass the meet record of 6.08m fell short, as he was unable to complete his final efforts. Still, his consistency was enough to comfortably secure the title.

The competition was far from one-sided, with Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis providing a strong challenge. The Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist matched the standard for much of the evening but eventually settled for second place. American Sam Kendricks, who claimed silver at the Paris Olympics, rounded out the podium in third. Kendricks cleared 5.80m but struggled at the higher bars, bowing out after misses at 5.90m and 6.00m.

For Duplantis, the Zurich victory adds a fifth Diamond League trophy to his career tally, placing him within touching distance of history. Only French pole vault great Renaud Lavillenie and American triple jumper Christian Taylor, with seven titles each, hold more.

Just two weeks ago in Budapest, Duplantis raised the bar to 6.29m to improve his own world record, cementing his place as the sport’s standard-bearer. Though he did not repeat such heroics in Zurich, he embraced the occasion and acknowledged that not every outing can end in record-breaking fashion.

“I am a human being, I do not break world records every day, there are days when I feel decent and others when I feel bad,” Duplantis said. “Today I felt somewhere in between. Street event like today, I love it. I have five Diamond trophies now, Renaud Lavillenie has seven, so I am getting closer.”

With another title secured, Duplantis edges closer to joining the legends in Diamond League history, while reminding the athletics world that even on an average day, he remains the benchmark.