Armand "Mondo" Dupantis shattered his own national high school record in the pole vault on Saturday with a clearance of 5.72m/18-9.25 at the LSU Last Chance High School Invitational in Baton Rouge.
Duplantis had previously set the composite [indoors/outdoors] national record at 18-5 on Jan. 7 at the LSU High School Classic. Today, he cleared 18-0.5 on his first attempt, set a new national record of 18-6.5 on his second attempt, then made his first attempt at 18-9.25, where he ended the day.
Watch a video of the clearance, courtesy of Mondo's brother, Andreas:
Duplantis is now five inches better than any other high schooler in American history. Chris Nilsen ranks No. 2 on the all-time list with his 2016 national record of 18-4.25. Duplantis' mark ties Andrew Irwin's American junior record, though he has competed through two international championships for Sweden and so that record will not be his. Even so, the 17-year-old now ranks No. 4 in the world all-time for U20 athletes. The world junior record stands at 5.80/19-0.25 (Maksim Tarasov).
Track fans will likely see Duplantis in the yellow and blue Swedish jersey again this summer, as he has now met the IAAF World Championships standard of 5.70m/18-8.25.
See below for Duplantis' full progression today:
The mark improves his own age 17 world record in the event; he's also the world record holder for age 7-,8-,9-,10-,11- and 12-year-olds.
