Watch as Olympic champion Armand Duplantis celebrates pole vault world record by kissing his model girlfriend and PUNCHING teammate in Paris
Sweden’s Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis reclaimed his Olympic pole vault title by breaking his own world record, and celebrated wildly with his girlfriend and teammates.
Duplantis defeated American silver medalist Sam Kendricks and Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who took bronze, before clearing 6.10m on his first attempt.
In doing so, the 24-year-old improved Thiago Braz’s Olympic record of 6.03 metres from Rio 2016, before taking on his own world record of 6.24 m – set in April.
After all other events of the evening had ended and 69,000 fans created a deafening atmosphere in Paris, he jumped 6.25 meters on his third and final attempt.
The Louisiana-born Swedish-American immediately got up from the mat and sprinted to the stands, leaping into the air and then hugging his girlfriend, model Desire Inglander.
Sweden’s Armand Duplantis hugs his girlfriend Desire Inglander after winning gold
The pole vault champion then celebrated his achievement exuberantly with one of his Swedish teammates in Paris
The two kissed as fans celebrated around them, before Duplantis was mobbed by his Swedish teammates.
The 24-year-old became so excited when he hugged one of his compatriots that the two started pushing each other and even punching each other in the chest.
Duplantis also celebrated his victory by imitating Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec, whose nonchalant style has made him an internet sensation.
The pole vault star has now added a second Olympic title to his long list of achievements, which already includes two World Championship golds and three European titles.
“I haven’t processed how amazing that moment was,” he said afterward. “It’s one of those things that doesn’t feel real, an out-of-body experience.
He added: ‘The biggest dream since I was a kid was to break the world record at the Olympics.
‘And I did it in front of the most ridiculous crowd I’ve ever fought in front of.
“I felt really prepared. I’ve never been so cooped up in my life as I have been in the last three months. Now I’m just ready to eat a ton of food. The party’s going to be pretty big.”
Duplantis, the Louisiana-born Swedish-American, and his girlfriend Desire pictured in 2023