Pole vault freak Armand Duplantis stuns athletics world with sizzling 100m time
Updated . First published at
Two-time Olympic pole vault champion Armand Duplantis beat good friend Karsten Warholm in an exhibition 100m sprint on Thursday (AEST), crossing the line in 10.37s at Letzigrund Stadium.
Duplantis, a Louisiana-born Swede widely known as 'Mondo,' lined up against Norway's Warholm, the 400m hurdles world record holder, in a duel on the eve of the city's Diamond League meet.
"I'm pretty fired up. How could I not be?" Duplantis said afterward.
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Armand Duplantis of Sweden crosses the finish line in front of Karsten Warholm of Norway. AP
"I've got to give it to Mondo. He beat me today fair and square," Warholm, who ran a still impressive 10.47s, said.
"It was a great race. He was out of the blocks fast."
The pair come up with the idea of an exhibition earlier in the season when they were debating who would be quicker over the sprint.
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Their times aren't fast enough to qualify to compete in the men's 100m at the Olympics, but are good enough to beat all but the most elite male sprinters.
"He said I looked fast and I said: 'let's race'," Duplantis explained.
Warholm added: "With my ego and how high I think of myself, I had to accept it."
Karsten Warholm of Norway reluctantly poses with the Sweden vest after losing. AP
Duplantis, the pole vault world record holder, handed his friend a Sweden running vest that Warholm is now set to wear in his hurdles race on Friday (AEST).
At a Diamond League meet in Poland last month, Duplantis broke the world record in the pole vault for the third time this year, this time clearing 6.26m.
He head earlier set a world record at the Paris Olympics, clearing 6.25m after clinching the gold medal.
