Armand Duplantis in the pole vault at the IAAF World Championships London 2017 (© Getty Images)
In the splendid, flourishing career of 18-year-old Armand Duplantis, the world U20 title may eventually be looked back on as no more than a footnote, but for the here and now, this will be all that matters to the Swedish pole vault star.
So often at this level, the emphasis is on nurturing a talent to full bloom but Duplantis is different in that he is, in essence, the finished package. He cleared a lifetime best of 5.93m in Baton Rouge back in May and last month in Stockholm, he claimed his first victory at an IAAF Diamond League when soaring over 5.86m to the delight of the home crowd.
Since then the US-based vaulter impressed even further with a 5.91m clearance in Montreuil and a 5.90m clearance in Paris, which if reproduced this week will see him take gold with ease.
His nearest rival on paper is Germany’s Bo Kanda Lita Baehre, a silver medallist behind Duplantis at last year’s European U20 Championships who has cleared 5.60m in two of his last three competitions. Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen has been in sparkling form in recent weeks, soaring up and over a national U20 record of 5.55m in Mannheim, a repeat of which might land him on the podium here.
US duo Zachery Bradford and Cole Riddle are also sure to feature. Bradford emerged victorious at the recent US U20 Championships, clearing 5.55m at the first attempt to take gold ahead of Riddle, who had a best of 5.50m that day.
The Asian challenge is led by Japan’s Masaki Ejima, who was sixth in this event two years ago and looks likely to again stake a strong claim. He has a best of 5.65m dating back to July 2017, though his best this year is 5.50m. France’s Thibaut Collet and South Africa’s Valco van Wyk have both cleared 5.40m this year so should also have outside shots at the medals.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF
