Misfiring Mondo still finds the route to gold

Duplantis says he “owes his Mum an apology” for throwing in a few scares as he wins second world indoor title, while Davis-Woodhall takes long jump honours and Ehammer edges the tightest of heptathlon battles

Mondo Duplantis’ appetite for gathering major honours shows no signs of being sated. A successful defence of his pole vault world indoor title in Glasgow landed the Swede the seventh consecutive championships gold of his career.

This was not one of his more straightforward victories, though, with the Olympic and world champion far from his fluid best, Yet still he was the only competitor able to clear 5.95m. He was then able to establish a world lead of 6.05m and, as is his custom, the 24-year-old had the crowd in the palm of his hand with a world record attempt.

Unlike when he created history in the Emirates Arena with a clearance of 6.18m four years ago, there was to be no moment of magic this time around. Thanks to Duplantis’ efforts, the world record now stands at 6.23m and a height of 6.24m proved elusive.

Still, it was hardly a bad night’s work, albeit the European champion admitted afterwards that he was due his mother, also his coach, an apology for giving her a couple of scares along the way.

Sam Kendricks had applied some pressure earlier in the evening, producing first-time clearances from 5.50m through to 5.90m and establishing himself at the top of the standings. Duplantis was more disjointed, only getting over 5.85m with his final chance.

It was that 5.95m leap which turned the tide and Kendricks had two attempts at the same height before then opting for a do or die effort at 6.00m. The two-time world outdoor champion would have to settle for a third world indoor silver and instead turned his attentions towards cheerleading Duplantis’ record attempts, while Emmanouil Karalis of Greece produced a season’s best of 5.85m for bronze.

“This was the hardest I have ever worked,” said Duplantis, who also needed three attempts to clear 6.05m. “It seems to be that way when I am against Sam. He’s such a tough competitor he brings out the best in me. I had my back against the wall quite a few times today and I’m glad I was able to pull it out on the third attempts. I was never negative about the fouls. It is always pressure on the last attempt because you are on the line but I always look at it positively. If I have one attempt left then I have a chance.

“I try not to overthink it and learn from the mistake I made on the first two and put it all together. I gave my mum too many scares tonight than she would have liked. I think she got quite nervous watching me there. I knew I had it under control. I’ll have to say sorry about that. I’m glad I could pull out the win for her. She is my inspiration.”

The women’s long jump competition also threw up an intriguing contest, with Tara Davis-Woodhall ultimately coming out on top in the battle of the Americans to take the first major senior title of her career.

The world silver medallist in Budapest last summer traded the lead with her compatriot Monae Nichols but a fourth round 7.07m clinched gold and kept her unbeaten indoor record this year intact.

Nichols had led with an opening mark of 6.75m, two centimetres further than Davis-Woodhall, but the world leader moved ahead with jumps of 6.79m and 6.93m before the 7.07m which made sure of victory. That mark arrived during the same round in which Nichols produced her best jump of the night (6.85m). Spain’s Fatima Diame took bronze with a fifth-round 6.78m.

“Every time someone says I’m a world champion it really hits me, I really did this,” said Davis-Woodhall, who had entered the arena wearing a Stetson hat, and rounded off the competition with a 7.03m jump. “I am so happy, so grateful. Glasgow has been so welcoming and I’m excited to go home and celebrate this medal before I start training again.”

The men’s heptathlon competition, meanwhile, could barely have been closer and came right down to the wire.

Going into the closing discipline, the 1000m, Simon Ehammer had established a lead of 140 points over overnight leader, Ken Mullings of the Bahamas. However, with two of his biggest rivals – Sander Skotheim and Johannes Erm – possessing superior track speed, the Swiss knew he would have to make sure he didn’t allow either of them to finish any more than 14 seconds ahead of him.

Both Skotheim and Erm truly went for it. The Norwegian produced a PB to come home first in 2:33.23, while the Estonian’s season’s best of 2:36.15 also guaranteed a medal. Which colour it would be came down to Ehammer. The world long jump bronze medallist pulled out his own PB, of 2:46.03, to finish sixth-fastest. Crucially, however, it meant he ended up with a world-leading tally of 6418, only 11 points ahead of Skotheim’s national record. Erm’s PB of 6340 earned him bronze, while Mullings ended up fourth with 6242.

“I pushed and pushed and pushed because I so wanted to win this gold,” said Ehammer of his first world title. “Yeah, I do the long jump as well but this proves I am a multi-eventer. This is where I belong.”

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Misfiring Mondo still finds the route to gold appeared first on AW.