Two-time Olympic champion Armand Duplantis is experimenting with a longer run-up as the pole vault world record holder looks to generate more power in his jumps ahead of the next major championships.
The Swede, widely known as Mondo Duplantis, said he has switched from a 20-step approach to a 22-step run-up after years of maintaining the same technique while repeatedly breaking the world record.
Duplantis cleared 6.31 metres in March to set the world record for the 15th time since 2020.
“I feel like I hadn’t really made a change in basically any part of the jump… since five or six years,” Duplantis said.
The 25-year-old said he was still adapting to the new approach but hoped it would help him continue improving with the World Championships next year and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on the horizon.
“We’ll probably try 22 steps again tomorrow, see how it feels, because I’m still very new to it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kenyan middle-distance star Faith Kipyegon said she would ease into the season by competing in the 5,000 metres on Saturday.
Kipyegon, a three-time Olympic gold medallist and world record holder in the 1,500m, won silver in the 5,000m at the Paris Olympics and captured the world title over the distance in 2023.
“It’s really to see how the body is, and going towards the final of the Diamond League,” the 32-year-old said.
