BERLIN: Pole vault king Armand Duplantis kick-started his 2025 season by clearing 6.10 metres in Berlin on Friday, describing his winning effort as a way “to shake off the rust”.

Duplantis set a new world mark of 6.25m when he defended his Paris Olympic gold medal in 2024, which he later extended by one centimetre in Poland in August.

On Friday, the American-born Swede jumped 5.55, 5.85, 5.94 and 6.02 metres, before leaving his competitors behind as he set his sights on breaking the meet record of 6.06m.

He followed up a jump of 6.10 metres before setting the bar at a new world record height of 6.27 metres, but was unable to clear the height in two attempts.

“It was a good competition to start the season. I like jumping here and it was good to come back to this hall,” said Duplantis, who previously competed in Berlin in 2023.

The 25-year-old added: “At the first competition [of the season] you always need to shake off some rust.”

Greek Emmanouil Karalis, who won bronze in Paris, was second with a height of 5.94, while German Oleg Zernikel finished third.

Duplantis’ next competition is in France on February 28, followed by competitions in his native Sweden and China in March.

The season’s highlight will come in the World Champi­onships in Tokyo in Sept­ember, where he will look to win his third gold medal in the competition.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2025