Duplantis gives Japanese fans what they came for — another world record in pole vault

TOKYO (AP) — Armand “Mondo” Duplantis traded handshakes and hugs with the pole vaulters he'd just beaten to capture his third world championship.

He took a leisurely walk toward the stands to talk to his parents, his brother, his fiancee.

Then, like any great performer in a jam-packed stadium, he turned around, walked back onstage and delivered the encore the people had been waiting for.

It was another world record — the 14th time he's set it — by clearing the bar at 6.30 meters.

Duplantis cleared it on his third and final attempt Monday night in Tokyo. It came more than a half hour after the racing on Day 3 of the championships was wrapped up for the evening. But nobody in the crowd of 53,000 would dare walk out on Mondo. And Mondo made a point of wringing every drop of drama out of an experience few in that crowd will soon forget.

“To be able to enjoy this world record with them and give them that is super special,” Duplantis said. “Especially considering the last time I was in this stadium, we didn’t have any spectators. It was spooky and eerie and super weird, and not very fun, honestly.”

The night of his last performance at Japan National Stadium was during the COVID Olympics, held a year late in 2021 and without any fans. Duplantis settled for “only” the gold medal that time and missed the world record. The difference, he suspects, was the energy missing during those silent Games.

This time, there was noise and fun — the people clapping in rhythm every time Duplantis lined up — and like any great artist, Mondo knew how to play to the crowd.

After clearing 6.10, for instance, he imitated Japanese baseball Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki's pre-bat sleeve-tugging routine.

“My brother was in the crowd and he plays baseball, so I was trying to fire him up,” Duplantis said. “And the Japanese people, if they understood it, it was just something fun.”

The Louisiana-born phenom who competes for his mother's native Sweden collected $70,000 for the win — his 49th straight dating to September 2022 — along with the $100,000 bonus that goes to record breakers at world championships.

The money isn't the main motivation for a champion who has won every major title — worlds and Olympics — since the Tokyo Games.

“It's doing what I know I'm capable of,” Duplantis said. “Motivation-wise, it's not that much of a problem. I know the level I can compete at, and I kind of demand that out of myself.”

It's hard to blame the crowd for expecting it, too. Duplantis started breaking records on Feb. 8, 2020, and has broken them on three continents and, now, in nine counties. This latest feat puts the height at an even 6.30.

“Six-three sounds really nice, really clean, a new barrier for our sport,” he said. “It sounds better than 6.29, for sure.”

But maybe not as good as 6.31.

Duplantis has, in fact, wondered if 6.5 might be in his future.

At this rate, it would take another few years. The good news is, he’s 25 and, for comparison, the great Sergey Bubka, who won six straight world titles through the 1980s and ’90s, was 31 when he broke the record for the 17th and final time.

Bubka's final record was 6.14, and after France's Renaud Lavillenie topped that once, Duplantis took over. He has improved the record by one centimeter every time, giving him maximum opportunities to pocket bonuses like the one he'll receive from World Athletics for this one.

“What Mondo has in spades is what every pole vaulter is trying to achieve,” said Sam Kendricks, the fourth-place finisher who is the last man not named Duplantis to win a world title (in 2019). “He’s got a jump, he’s got the jets. He’s got a family that really supports him, and then he’s got a field of guys that’s really pushing him up there.”

Ditaji Kambundji of Switzerland held off the world record-holder and reigning Olympic champion to win a surprise gold in the 100 hurdles.

After crossing the finish line, Kambundji stared up at the scoreboard waiting to see where her name would wind up. When she saw she was in first, her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth in shock.

Kambundji finished in a personal-best 12.24 seconds to hold off world record-holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria by .05 seconds. American Grace Stark took bronze while Masai Russell, who won gold at the Paris Olympics last summer, was fourth.

“You could see on my face how happy I was when I realized I won,” Kambundji said.

The most heartbreaking scene on Monday was steeplechaser Soufiane El Bakkali kneeling with his head on the track and his teammate dwon there with him trying to console him.

The two-time world and Olympic champion was outraced to the line by New Zealand's Geordie Beamish and finished second by .07 seconds.

“Congratulations for a good race today but, for me, I'm coming here for a different reason,” El Bakkali said.

Despite his heartbreak, El Bakkali took a traditional steeplechase dip in the water pit with Beamish.

Beamish celebrated a gold medal some 48 hours after another memorable scene. He tripped during qualifying and an oncoming runner stepped on his face. But Beamish got up and made the final.

“It might have been a blessing in disguise," Beamish said. "That gave me a lot of confidence, just being able to get back up off the ground and qualify pretty easily still. It gave me confidence that my shape was better than what I thought it is.”

AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed to this report.

AP Sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

Silver medalist Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali reacts after competing in the men's 3,000 meters steeplechase final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Sweden's Armand Duplantis poses after winning the gold medal in the men's pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Sweden's Armand Duplantis kisses his girlfriend Desire Inglander after setting a new men's pole vault world record of 6.30 meters, at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Sweden's Armand Duplantis poses after setting a new men's pole vault world record of 6.30 meters, at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Sweden's Armand Duplantis clears the bar to set a new men's pole vault world record of 6.30 meters, at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Sweden's Armand Duplantis making a clearance in the men's pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a second major drone and missile bombardment of Ukraine in four days, officials said Tuesday, aiming again at the power grid and apparently snubbing U.S.-led peace efforts as the war approaches the four-year mark.

Russia fired almost 300 drones, 18 ballistic missiles and seven cruise missiles at eight regions overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.

One strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region killed four people at a mail depot, and several hundred thousand households were without power in the Kyiv region, Zelenskyy said. The daytime temperature in the capital was -12 C (around 10 F). The streets were covered with ice, and the city rumbled with the noise from generators.

Four days earlier, Russia also sent hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack and, for only the second time in the war, it used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in what appeared to be a clear warning to Kyiv’s NATO allies that it won’t back down.

On Monday, the United States accused Russia of a “ dangerous and inexplicable escalation ” of the fighting, when the Trump administration is trying to advance peace negotiations.

Tammy Bruce, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Washington deplores “the staggering number of casualties” in the conflict and condemns Russia’s intensifying attacks on energy and other infrastructure.

Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat and running water in the freezing winter months over the course of the war, hoping to wear down public resistance to Moscow’s full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian officials describe the strategy as “weaponizing winter.”

In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, the Russian attack also wounded 10 people, local authorities said.

In the southern city of Odesa, six people were wounded in the attack, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the regional military administration. The strikes damaged energy infrastructure, a hospital, a kindergarten, an educational facility and a number of residential buildings, he said.

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is counting on quicker deliveries of agreed upon air defense systems from the U.S. and Europe, as well as new pledges of aid, to counter Russia’s latest onslaught.

Meanwhile, Russian air defenses shot down 11 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday. Seven were reportedly destroyed over Russia’s Rostov region, where Gov. Yuri Slyusar confirmed an attack on the coastal city of Taganrog.

Ukrainian officials have previously said that they have targeted Atlant Aero, a company in Taganrog that produces components for combat drones. The city also hosts the Beriev aircraft company.

Katie Marie Davies contributed to this report from Manchester, England.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)