Armand Duplantis Sets Pole Vault World Record for the 13th Time
Sweden’s Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis once again rewrote pole vault history, improving his own world record for a record-extending 13th time. At an athletics meet in Budapest on Tuesday (August 12), the 25-year-old cleared 6.29 metres on his second attempt, surpassing the 6.28m mark he set in Stockholm in June.
This is Duplantis’s third world record of 2025, having also vaulted 6.27m in Clermont-Ferrand in February. He secured his 33rd competition win by clearing 6.11m on his first attempt, ahead of Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis (6.02m) and Australia’s Kurtis Marschall (5.83m).
On his record-setting jump, Duplantis brushed the bar with his leg and stomach, but it stayed in place and the clearance was validated. Since Sergey Bubka first cleared 6 metres in 1985, the pole vault world record has fallen 26 times—12 by Bubka, 13 by Duplantis, and once by France’s Renaud Lavillenie. The US-born Swede first broke the world record in 2020 with a 6.17m effort and now heads to Tokyo as the firm favourite for a third consecutive outdoor world title next month.
Fred Kerley Provisionally Suspended Over Whereabouts Failures
Olympic 100m silver medallist and 2022 world champion Fred Kerley has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for alleged whereabouts failures.
The American sprinter plans to contest the charge, with his lawyer stating that one or more missed tests should be dismissed because he was either not negligent or the Doping Control Officer failed to make reasonable efforts to locate him at his registered address.
Kerley withdrew from the US track and field trials last month, writing on social media that he was “taking some time out to get back on track.” In another post, he said: “The 100m should be a straight sprint. 2025 has presented many hurdles. Thanks to all my supporters.”
His most recent appearance was at the Grand Sprint Series in Norwalk, California, a month ago.
