American-Swedish pole vaulter and Olympic champion Armand Duplantis cleared 6.19 meters to break his own world record at an indoor meeting in Belgrade Monday.
"This is just the start," the 22-year-old warned. "I feel like I can jump a lot higher than I've jumped. I feel like this is just a start. I think there are a lot more barriers to push, getting into the 6.20s," Duplantis told reporters trackside.
The record came in the arena where the Indoor World Championships will start on March 18 with the men's pole vault final on March 20.
Duplantis broke the world record in an almost empty hall, and in a competition where he was the only top-ranked pole vaulter.
After easily clearing 5.61 meters, 5.85 meters and then 6 meters, he passed 6.19 meters at his third attempt before rushing into the arms of his girlfriend at the edge of the track for a kiss. "I don't usually practice with heights like this, but I felt really confident going to it today.
"The only thing that was on my mind from the beginning was the world record," explained Duplantis.
"That was the only thing I cared about today. If I didn't break the world record, I was going to be upset."
Duplantis added: "I think I've tried 6.19 meters 50 times.
"It's been a long time coming. I've never had a height that has given me that much trouble, so it's a very good feeling. It was really hard fought over these past two years. I'm really happy."
He had already attempted 6.19 meters this winter in Karlsruhe in Germany, Berlin, Uppsala in Sweden, and in Birmingham, without success.
"From now on I will attack 6.20 meters, even in two weeks," he said, sure of his strength compared to the solid competition of the American Chris Nilsen, who cleared 6.05 meters on Friday in Rouen.
The Swede had held the record since February 2020, when he cleared 6.17 meters in Torun in Poland and then 6.18 meters in Glasgow a week apart.
At times he seems able to raise the record 1 centimeter at a time, like the Soviet and Ukrainian great Sergey Bubka, who, in the days when outdoors and indoors were considered separate, broke the outdoor world record 17 times and set indoor bests 18 times between 1984 and 1994.
World Athletics has done away with the distinction between indoors, or outdoors in pole vault records.
Duplantis, nicknamed "Mondo," was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, but competes for Sweden through his mother, who trains him with his father.
He became European champion in 2018 in Berlin at only 18 and took the Olympic title last summer in Tokyo with a jump at 6.02 meters.
He will be the overwhelming favorite next week to claim one of the two titles missing from his record, along with the World Outdoor title that he will have the opportunity to win in July in Eugene, Oregon.