By Mary Dai
On the 28th of February, Armand Duplantis broke his own world record – the world record for the men’s pole vault at his first attempt with a 6.27m (20 ft 7 in) at the All Star Perche event in France. Duplantis’ previous record was set back in August in Poland, with a jump of 6.26m. This marks his 11th time of continuously breaking the world record in pole vault.
Duplantis’ first-ever world record was achieved when was 20, beating a record set that had stood for nearly six years by Renaud Lavillenie from France. He has then continued to progress the record in 1 cm increments each time, from 6.16m to 6.27m, slowly taking the leaderboard of male pole vault. Whilst securing 10 major international titles in the process, including his two times Olympic titles in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, and four times Diamond League final winner.
The Growth of Mindsets behind a Champion
After breaking the world record again and again, how does Duplantis keep on staying motivated? Being the best in the world means that you only have a few athletes to look at for guidance and inspiration. However, Duplantis is constantly setting new targets for himself and focusing on continuous improvement.
In a podcast interview with Mind Set Win Podcast, he mentioned that he focuses on making marginal gains in what he is doing. “I think it’s really important to set goals. It’s really simple when I say it, but people just don’t do it.” said Duplantis. He believes that little change can add up to big results. “You don’t have to be the best in the world, you don’t have to be famous, you don’t have to be anything but there can be little goals, little checkmarks to make sure that you’re in the place that you want to be.” he adds. For Duplantis, the aim might just be the next centimetre in height. His positive attitude as an athlete helped him to push the limits of himself, knowing how to maximise his own potential which has made him become a successful pole vaulter.