Now, there are still many centimeters between the pole vaulters. Armand Duplantis has this season polished the world record three times to the current 6.29 meters.
Emmanouil Karalis has at best reached 6.08 meters, which means that he is second on the annual best list.
Despite the difference of crazy 21 centimeters, it creates a new and unusual situation for Duplantis.
Pushed by Karalis
He is the biggest competitor I've had in a long time and I know he's in good shape. I know I have to jump at least 6.10 to win – and that gives me a little push, says the Swede.
The blue and yellow pole vault star arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday after a few loading days in Fukuoka. Days that have made him first and foremost ready for the qualifying round on Saturday.
I feel acclimatized, my body feels great. I sleep well, I sleep on my regular schedule, and I compete in the evening, both qualifying and final, so it's pretty nice. It was very bad when I was in Tokyo last time (OS 2021), then we had the qualifying round at half past nine in the evening, says Duplantis.
"The heat is great"
On Thursday, he met Swedish media together with large parts of the Swedish World Championship team. At the enormous hotel in Japan's enormous capital, he made it clear that there is another condition that can mean that the final can offer record heights.
The heat in the metropolis is tough for many – but not for Armand Duplantis.
We're not running any marathons, so the heat feels great, it's just good for the body. The heat makes it work better for me, he says.
I feel a lot of confidence as usual. It feels like there are opportunities to jump very high.
The men's pole vault qualifying round will be decided on Saturday, the World Championship's first day. After that, the final awaits on Monday.
