World pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis (© Getty Images)
World pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis will aim to add another record to his collection when he returns to the Ostrava Golden Spike, one of this year’s 14 World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meetings, on 27 June.
The 23-year-old cleared 5.90m when winning in the Czech city in 2021 and since then he has raised the world record to 6.21m, won Olympic gold and become a world champion indoors and outdoors.
His target when he competes at the Golden Spike this year will be to beat the meeting record of 5.93m set by Sam Kendricks and soar over six metres yet again.
"Let’s get that meet record and possibly attack six meters,” said Duplantis. “This year is very important for me, with the World Championships and making sure I enjoy every competition.”
The Swedish athlete enjoyed a strong start to his year, clearing 6.10m in Uppsala for his best ever season opener. He went on to attempt a world record height of 6.22m.
His upcoming events include the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais – the fifth Gold level meeting in the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour series – on 15 February.
This year's World Athletics Continental Tour offers the biggest calendar yet and includes 14 Gold level events spread across five of the six continental areas. The action kicks off in Melbourne, Australia, on 23 February and runs through to September, when the Memorial Borisa Hanzekovica in Zagreb, Croatia, welcomes athletes on 8-10 September.
