Athletics-Fresh off another world record, Duplantis ready to push boundaries again

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By Amy Tennery

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Fresh off yet another world record mark and with a third straight world gold in his sights, pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis is ready to push the boundaries of his sport again.

The gravity-defying Swede broke the world record for a 13th time on Tuesday, clearing 6.29 metres at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, and will be one of the biggest attractions at next month’s World Championships in Tokyo.

“The natural next step would be 6.30. And I think that would be a huge barrier to cross for me and for the sport in general,” Duplantis told reporters on Thursday.

“I’ll be there soon. And then I guess naturally then I’ll just keep looking forward whenever I’m able to cross that, hopefully in the near future. As far as the limit, I don’t really think about it.”

Duplantis first put the world on notice five years ago as a 20-year-old when he cleared 6.17 for the first time, breaking Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie’s previous record mark set in 2014.

At the Tokyo worlds, which run from September 13-21, he will revisit the site of his Olympic breakthrough, where he won his first of two Games golds in the COVID-delayed 2021 Games.

Deprived of a crowd amid public health restrictions due to the pandemic four years ago, Duplantis is eager to return with the full backing of his fans.

“I haven’t been this excited about a competition maybe ever,” said Duplantis, who plans to compete in the Silesia Diamond League meet on Saturday and the top-flight circuit’s finale in Zurich later this month.

“It’s going to be such an amazing stadium when it’s more full and has the energy of the crowd. I think that definitely should give me a good push.”

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed Osmond)