Tokyo crowd left in raptures as pole vault star produces his 14th world record at world championships.

The best sportspeople possess the ability to make time slow down. Whether it’s Lionel Messi spotting a pass no-one else can see, Carlos Alcaraz threading a forehand down the line or Simone Biles travelling through the air in a way which previously might have seemed inconceivable, they are all seemingly unhurried. Devoid of panic. In the zone. 

Mondo Duplantis works like that, too. 

Like all sportspeople, he has an unusual job. However, sprinting as fast as you can, carrying a long pole, before thrusting it into the ground and then hurling yourself upside down into the sky is a particularly unusual and difficult art to master. Yet master it the 25-year-old has and, in doing so, he has discovered a way to create magic. 

Packed stadia across the world have witnessed what has now become a well-worn drill. First, victory in the competition is secured with a height that is just beyond the reach of his pursuers but well within his own particular skillset.  

Next, the spotlight turns to him. By this stage in proceedings, usually all of the other events have finished and he is the sole athlete left competing. No distractions. Full attention. Everyone watching.

Before long, he is standing at the end of the runway, staring at the bar set at a height that, if cleared, will break the world record. It’s a scenario that would make most mortals shrink, but this is the place where the magic happens.

Before Monday evening (September 15), Duplantis had broken the world record no fewer than 13 times – three of those clearances coming this year. Centimetre by centimetre, he had raised the standard to 6.29m.

However, everyone knows there’s more to come and so, with a third successive outdoor title already won at the Tokyo national stadium, he faced up to the challenge of 6.30m. This is the place where he won his first Olympic title in 2021 but, back then, he did it in front a handful of onlookers and in an arena that felt "spooky". This time, there was an audience to share the occasion with. 

Then came the "teasing" from the man in the middle. Of course he didn’t want to miss his opening two attempts – every vault saps more energy, places an extra load on the body and makes the job at hand harder – but the fact that his misses were of the very near variety simply heightened every single spectator’s senses.

Just as in Paris at last year’s Olympics, Duplantis had one chance left. The magic happened there and it happened in Tokyo, too. With the slow capping underway, he set off down the runway, lowered that pole, felt it catch in the box and then threw himself into the air. 

It was at that point when time stood still. Up he went. Over he went. The bar stayed put. The place went nuts. 

For Duplantis, a world record never gets old but there was an extra dimension to just how raucously he ran to celebrate his 6.30m leap with his fellow competitors, the parents who are also his coaches and his fiancee. 

“It was not spooky today," smiled Duplantis, who was followed by Emmanouil Karalis, the Greek taking silver with a best clearance of 6.00m, while Australia’s Kurtis Marschall equalled his personal best with 5.95m to win bronze on countback from former world champion Sam Kendricks.

"The crowd was giving me a lot of really good energy, especially towards the end. That goes a long way in a competition. It exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations of what it would be like to jump in front a full crowd [in this stadium].”

Camryn Rogers also saved her best for the big occasion, producing a world-leading and North American record-breaking throw of 80.51m to win her second successive women’s hammer world title.

The Olympic champion led from start to finish, her opening throw of 78.09m giving her a level of control that she would not relinquish. It was in the second round where she truly settled the destiny of the gold medal, also moving to second on the world all-time list.

The battle for silver and bronze was fought out by two Chinese athletes in a superb final round. First, Zhang Jiale moved herself into second with 77.10m with her last throw, but Zhao Jie’s PB of 77.60m ultimately secured silver.

"I cannot believe it,” said Rogers, who went beyond 78 metres four times in her series. “Everything came together when it mattered the most. This is truly a very hard thing to accomplish. Over the last few years, my coach and I have been trying to figure it out – what is working in our training and all the little details. Now we have got the job done and I made my country and my family proud. 

“They are here with me to celebrate afterwards. My mum started to cry. And I know my dad started too. This is the most incredible thing in the world. To win a world championships once is very hard, and to defend it is even harder. We kind of planned for the long throws but to set that intensity level, to be consistent throughout the competition, that is testament to all the training and work we have done."