Dominant Armand Duplantis, double for Andre de Grasse at Golden Spike
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Armand Duplantis of Sweden competes in the pole vault at the Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic on May 28.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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OSTRAVA – Reigning Olympic and world champion Armand Duplantis is feeling “confident” after clearing 6 metres and narrowly missed a world-record attempt at the Golden Spike athletics meet in the Czech Republic on May 28.
The 24-year-old Swede set a pole vault world mark of 6.24m in April and got close to 6.25m in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava, but brushed the bar with his belly on the third attempt.
“I’m happy about the last attempt, it felt quite good. I was actually closer than I thought I was going to be. Gives me confidence going forward,” he said.
“I’m quite pleased with the jumps, I feel really good on the runway right now.”
Duplantis added that the conditions were “a little bit too cold, a little bit too windy” for perfect jumps, so he had no complaints about his performance ahead of the Olympics in Paris.
Canada’s Andre de Grasse won his two races on the wet Ostrava track, clocking 10.10 seconds for a 100m season best and 20.09sec in his first 200m appearance in 2024.
“I came here to test my fitness and endurance, to see where I am at. So yes, I am satisfied with two victories,” he said.
“It was a good run, a season best, so now it is the time to go back, work on some things, try to get my speed back,” he added after the 100m.
The Canadian beat Jamaica’s Ryiem Forde as well as Olympic champion and his training partner Marcell Jacobs.
“Marcell Jacobs is a great training partner and training with him helps me with my 100 metres, which is what I want to work on,” added de Grasse.
“Beating him today at that distance may give me some bragging rights.”
In other events, reigning Olympic champion Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas won the 400m in a season-best 44.39sec, while Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek dominated the women’s 400m in 50.09sec.
Algerian Djamel Sedjati, second at the 2022 World Championships, won the 800m in a world-leading 1min 43.51sec.
Reigning world champion Haruka Kitaguchi of Japan won women’s javelin with a distance of 60.47m.
Briton Molly Caudery, the world indoor champion, won the women’s pole vault in 4.84m. AFP
