Armand Duplantis: A Stellar Presence at Rome 2024 European Athletics Championships

A more and more stellar edition of the European Athletics Championships at Rome 2024. Following the confirmation of Femke Bol's participation, the news today is about the call-up of the Swedish superstar Armand Duplantis, the undisputed dominator of pole vaulting, one of the symbols of world athletics, a character capable of attracting the attention of audiences around the globe. "Mondo" has been officially pre-selected by the Swedish athletics federation to participate in the continental event which will take place from June 7 to 12 at the Olympic Stadium and the Foro Italico Park: the world record holder of pole vaulting, currently holding all the major crowns (Olympics, World Championships, Europeans), will compete to win his third consecutive European gold medal after the triumphs in Berlin 2018 and Munich 2022. For the twenty-four-year-old, coached by dad Greg and mom Helena, it will be a grand return to the Olympic Stadium in Rome, where he already lit up the evening of the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in the 2020 season, heavily affected by the pandemic: on that occasion, Duplantis climbed to a height of 6.15, the then best world performance ever outdoors, unfortunately in front of empty stands due to Covid restrictions. This time, however, he will be able to receive all the applause and warmth of the Olympic audience waiting for him under the North Curve for the qualifying round scheduled on the morning of Monday, June 10, and for the final in the closing evening, that of Wednesday, June 12. In Duplantis' trophy case shines the Olympic gold of Tokyo, the two outdoor world golds of Eugene and Budapest, and the indoor world successes of Belgrade and, just over a month ago, of Glasgow. Inch by inch, Duplantis is shifting the boundaries of pole vaulting: in the last four years, he has already collected seven world records, step by step, from 6.17 in Torun in 2020 to 6.23 in Eugene last season. Dreaming of a world record at the Rome 2024 European Championships is not impossible.