There is a peculiar calm that comes before one of Mondo Duplantis’ vaults. The runway narrows, the stadium quiets, and for a few seconds it is only him and the bar, as though gravity itself pauses to see what he will do next. In Tokyo, on September 15, the outcome felt inevitable. Once again, the Swede who has redefined the limits of his event lifted himself beyond them, clearing 6.30 meters to set his fourteenth world record and secure a third consecutive World Championship gold.
For Duplantis, 25, this was his fourth record of the year, though he has a way of making such feats appear almost routine. He ran with measured composure, wearing his familiar PUMA EvoSPEED Naio NITRO™ Elite spikes, and delivered a vault that carried more than his own body weight. It carried the weight of expectation, the certainty that he would succeed where no one else could. Each centimeter gained becomes a milestone, each record another reminder that he is not just the best of his time but perhaps the best there has ever been.
His record progression tells the story of that dominance:
- 6.17 m — Toruń, Poland, February 8, 2020
- 6.18 m — Glasgow, UK, February 15, 2020
- 6.19 m — Belgrade, Serbia, March 7, 2022
- 6.20 m — Belgrade, Serbia, March 20, 2022
- 6.21 m — Eugene, USA, July 24, 2022
- 6.22 m — Clermont-Ferrand, France, February 25, 2023
- 6.23 m — Eugene, USA, September 17, 2023
- 6.24 m — Xiamen, China, April 20, 2024
- 6.25 m — Paris, France, August 5, 2024
- 6.26 m — Chorzów, Poland, August 25, 2024
- 6.27 m — Clermont-Ferrand, France, February 28, 2025
- 6.28 m — Stockholm, Sweden, June 15, 2025
- 6.29 m — Budapest, Hungary, August 12, 2025
- 6.30 m — Tokyo, Japan, September 15, 2025
Earlier this year, Duplantis spoke with PUMA CEO Arne Freundt for the company’s annual report. At the time, he said his near-term goal was 6.30 meters, a mark he has now achieved in Tokyo. He also looked further ahead, suggesting that 6.40 meters is possible in the next few years.“I think that 6.30 meters is probably the target in the near future, and 6.40 meters is achievable in the next few years,” he said.
That confidence is not blind optimism but grounded in technology and partnership. Duplantis credits his custom-engineered PUMA spikes, which he calls Claws, with playing a part in his record-breaking run. By blending characteristics of sprinting spikes with the stability required for pole vaulting, the shoes allow him to generate maximum speed on the runway.
“They are much lighter and more aggressive with the toe spring than what you used to see years ago in a pole-vaulting spike,” he explained. “I think that’s what helps me and allows me to get up to the speeds that I want to create to be able to jump stuff like a world record.”
The strength of the field in Tokyo gave the achievement further weight. Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis took silver with 6.00 meters and Australia’s Kurtis Marschall earned bronze with 5.95. Both are world-class athletes, yet Duplantis remains untouchable. His presence has reshaped the event entirely.
For PUMA, the sweep of the podium in Tokyo offered proof of concept. Three medals, three athletes, one brand. Innovation and performance are not abstract ideas for the company but working principles visible on nights like this. Freundt put it simply:
“As a sports brand, it’s super important that we show up with the best athletes and prove that our products perform at the highest levels and enable a better performance. The learnings we take from an innovation angle are even more important. That we really understand what makes you faster before the jump, what makes you jump higher, and we turn these learnings into product innovation.”
Duplantis has often made the extraordinary look ordinary, but the bar continues to rise. The question is no longer whether he can do it, but how high he can go. He has already answered part of it in Tokyo with 6.30 meters. The rest, perhaps, lies at 6.40.
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