ROME, Sept 18: Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis broke Sergey Bubka�s 26-year-old outdoor world record. Duplantis cleared 6 meters, 15 centimeters (20 feet, 2 inches) at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet in Rome with his second attempt, besting Bubka�s mark of 6.14 meters (20 feet, 1 1/2 inches) set in Sestriere in July 1994. Duplantis already holds the indoor world record of 6.18 meters (20 feet, 3 1/4 inches) set in Glasgow in February but Bubka�s classic outdoor mark was viewed by many as the ultimate test.
�World record finally! It is so cool,� Duplantis said. �I wanted to get over these 6.15 so badly. Everybody kept talking about it, it was a big chip on my shoulder ... When I did it, it was more relief than joy.� The 20-year-old Duplantis, who was born and raised in the United States, came agonizingly close on his first attempt before clearing the bar on his second.
�It is crazy,� Duplantis said. �It has been a long time coming. Coming into the season we did not know if we were able to do any competition at all. This world record is really unexpected and I am very grateful.�
Duplantis was a child prodigy who broke age-group records on his way to joining the pole vaulting elite. He chose to compete internationally for Sweden, his mother�s home country. He won the silver medal at last year�s world championships.
World champion Karsten Warholm again narrowly missed out on Kevin Young�s 28-year-old world record in the men�s 400 hurdles but the Norwegian keeps getting close.
Warholm ran a meet record 47.07 seconds, less than three-tenths of a second off Young�s record of 46.78 from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
�It�s my third best time ever and you know running low 47s on the regular is awesome,� Warholm said.
�So I�m really happy and this season has been a good experience for me.� Warholm ran 46.92 in Zurich last year and bettered that in Stockholm last month with a time of 46.87. � AP
ROME, Sept 18: Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis broke Sergey Bubka�s 26-year-old outdoor world record. Duplantis cleared 6 meters, 15 centimeters (20 feet, 2 inches) at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet in Rome with his second attempt, besting Bubka�s mark of 6.14 meters (20 feet, 1 1/2 inches) set in Sestriere in July 1994. Duplantis already holds the indoor world record of 6.18 meters (20 feet, 3 1/4 inches) set in Glasgow in February but Bubka�s classic outdoor mark was viewed by many as the ultimate test.
�World record finally! It is so cool,� Duplantis said. �I wanted to get over these 6.15 so badly. Everybody kept talking about it, it was a big chip on my shoulder ... When I did it, it was more relief than joy.� The 20-year-old Duplantis, who was born and raised in the United States, came agonizingly close on his first attempt before clearing the bar on his second.
�It is crazy,� Duplantis said. �It has been a long time coming. Coming into the season we did not know if we were able to do any competition at all. This world record is really unexpected and I am very grateful.�
Duplantis was a child prodigy who broke age-group records on his way to joining the pole vaulting elite. He chose to compete internationally for Sweden, his mother�s home country. He won the silver medal at last year�s world championships.
World champion Karsten Warholm again narrowly missed out on Kevin Young�s 28-year-old world record in the men�s 400 hurdles but the Norwegian keeps getting close.
Warholm ran a meet record 47.07 seconds, less than three-tenths of a second off Young�s record of 46.78 from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
�It�s my third best time ever and you know running low 47s on the regular is awesome,� Warholm said.
�So I�m really happy and this season has been a good experience for me.� Warholm ran 46.92 in Zurich last year and bettered that in Stockholm last month with a time of 46.87. � AP
