Mondo Duplantis in action in Ostrava (© Sona Maleterova)
Mondo Duplantis will return to action nine days on from his latest world pole vault record when he takes to the runway at the Ostrava Golden Spike, this season’s ninth World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, on Tuesday (24).
The Olympic and world champion will be joined in the Czech city by multiple other global gold medallists, including Femke Bol, Neeraj Chopra, Grant Holloway and Haruka Kitaguchi.
Sweden’s Duplantis added another centimetre to his own world pole vault record when he cleared 6.28m in front of home fans in Stockholm on 15 June and now he heads back to a meeting where he vaulted 6.12m in 2023 to claim one of the three Golden Spike victories he has achieved so far. It will be his ninth competition of the year, with all bar one of those featuring wins with vaults of 6.05m or higher.
Greek record-holder Emmanouil Karalis was runner-up to Duplantis in Oslo, Shanghai/Keqiao and Xiamen – as well as at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing – and he also forms part of the field in Ostrava, along with Kurtis Marschall, Sondre Guttormsen and Austin Miller.
“By the time of the meet, I’ll have several competitions under my belt, so I should be ready for a strong performance,” said Duplantis when announced for the event. “Maybe I’ll try to attack the meeting record of 6.12m, or even go higher. A lot depends on the weather, too. I believe the stands will be packed and the fans will push us forward.”
After an impressive start to her 400m hurdles campaign, Bol will make her 400m season debut. The world 400m hurdles and 4x400m champion, who set her world 400m short track record of 49.17 last year and has an outdoor best of 49.44 from 2022, forms part of a strong field as she takes on world and Olympic medallists Natalia Bukowiecka and Salwa Eid Naser, plus Lynna Irby-Jackson and Martina Weil.
The javelin will be in the spotlight at the Mestsky Stadion once again. In the men’s event, India’s world champion Chopra will seek back-to-back wins after taking top spot in Paris, looking to build on the national record of 90.23m he achieved in Doha. In the women’s contest, Japan’s Olympic and world champion Kitaguchi will face world leader Adriana Vilagos and world U20 record-holder Yan Ziyi.
The Olympic and three-time world 110m hurdles champion Holloway continues his comeback as part of a field that features his US compatriot Dylan Beard, who won at the Continental Tour Gold meetings in Turku and Zagreb, while Brazil’s Matheus Lima is among the entries for the 400m hurdles.
The 100m hurdles stars a clash between Nigeria’s world record-holder Tobi Amusan and USA’s Olympic finalist Alaysha Johnson, while the 100m will see Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith take on Cambrea Sturgis, Zoe Hobbs and Amy Hunt.
Australia’s Gout Gout will make his European professional debut when he races the 200m in Ostrava. The 17-year-old clocked 20.04 in December to break the long-standing Oceanian record and improve Usain Bolt’s world age-16 best. In Ostrava his competition includes Cuba’s Reynier Mena, who won the Diamond League races in Oslo and Stockholm.
Kenya’s 18-year-old Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech stormed to a world U20 record of 3:27.72 when finishing second in Paris on Friday and will look to maintain that fantastic form when he lines up alongside world indoor champion Josh Hoey, world bronze medallist Narve Gilje Nordas and Isaac Nader in Ostrava.
The 400m features Jonas Phijffers and Christopher Morales-Williams, while the 800m pits Australian record-holder Peter Bol against Samuel Chapple. South Africa’s world indoor champion Prudence Sekgodiso leads the entries for the women’s 800m.
Local favourite Tomas Stanek takes on world leader Leonardo Fabbri and his Italian compatriot Zane Weir in the shot put, while another home athlete Jan Stefela goes in the high jump against Italians Stefano Sottile and Marco Fassinotti. Slovenia’s world indoor silver medallist Tina Sutej leads the field for the women’s pole vault.
