PARIS – Armand Duplantis, who holds the world record in the pole vault, is focused on Olympic gold at the Games in Paris and breaking the mark again would be a bonus, he said on April 10, as he prepares to compete at Diamond League meets in China in April.

The Swede broke his own world record in 2023 with a leap of 6.23m, therefore few would bet against him to do it once more. But he is not taking things for granted.

“There’s a lot of things that have to add up and be perfect for me to break a world record, and a lot of things that are also out of my control, as far as conditions – you need still winds, and warm weather,” Duplantis said ahead of the meets in Xiamen and Suzhou.

“The most important thing going into the Olympics is always to win and to secure the gold medal, and if I’m able to do that, then I will look onwards after that. Right now, you have more of the focus on making sure you get the job done first before biting off more than you can chew.”

The 24-year-old also said he prepares psychologically by sticking to his routine.

“Just try to trust the process, trust the training and trust that everything is where it should be, and hopefully it will be at that time when it’s the Olympics,” he said, adding: “Of course it’s going to be a little more tough sleeping because you’re going to be a bit more anxious.”

In other Olympic news, athletes will have more free rein to post their wins and thank sponsors on social media during the Paris Games, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) plans to relax rules governing online marketing in a pilot project with the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry.

Duplantis also had his say on this latest development.

“Of course, social media is huge for any athlete nowadays, it’s where you can have the biggest reach to people,” said the Swede, who has 547,000 followers on his Instagram account.

“For me being a pole vaulter, I think it’s a great thing for a little bit more of a niche sport, to try to reach as many people as possible, and for people to see and hopefully more people will try it.” REUTERS