BUDAPEST, July 15 — Olympic champion and world record holder Armand Duplantis won the men’s pole vault at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial in Budapest on Tuesday, clearing 6.07 meters before narrowly missing a world record attempt at 6.32 meters.
The Swede entered the competition at 5.80 meters and comfortably cleared 5.90, 6.00 and 6.07. After securing victory with all of his rivals eliminated, Duplantis raised the bar to 6.32 meters, one centimeter higher than his own world record of 6.31. His third and final attempt came agonizingly close before he clipped the bar on his way down. “I’ll be back here in September as an ambassador for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship,” Duplantis said. “I hope to break the world record again. That’s always my ultimate goal.”
Another standout performance came from 20-year-old American hurdler Ja’Kobe Tharp, the newly crowned world record holder in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Tharp, who ran 12.75 seconds to break the 14-year-old world record at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 10, dominated Tuesday’s race from the start and eased up over the closing meters to win in 12.85 seconds. The time was the second-fastest in the world this year behind his own world record and earned him his first professional victory.
2024 Olympic 100-meter champion Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia won the women’s race in 10.87 seconds, while Olympic champion Gabrielle Thomas captured the women’s 200 title in 21.83 as Americans swept the podium. Olympic 100-meter hurdles champion Masai Russell won in 12.33 seconds as the United States also claimed the top three places in that event. Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme won the men’s 100 in 9.99 seconds, the only athlete to break the 10-second barrier.
Canada’s Olympic and world champion Ethan Katzberg won the men’s hammer throw with a season-leading 83.64 meters. Australia’s world champion Nicola Olyslagers took the women’s high jump with a clearance of 2.00 meters, while Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri won the men’s shot put with 22.04 meters. Named after renowned Hungarian sports journalist Istvan Gyulai, the meeting has grown into one of the premier events on the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold circuit, regularly attracting many of the world’s leading athletes. Organizers said this year’s meeting featured athletes from 51 countries and regions, including nine 2024 Olympic champions and five reigning world champions.
Xinhua
