Sam Kendricks, an American who just missed a spot on the podium in the men’s pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships on Monday, had one of the best seats in the house to watch Armand “Mondo” Duplantis set a new world record.
When it was over, and Duplantis, who many call the greatest pole vaulter of all time, had rewritten the boundaries of the sport again with a vault of 6.30 meters, Kendricks did not mince words when asked about the Swedish star.
“I think he’s the greatest track and field athlete ever in the world,” Kendricks said. “The thing about pole vault is, you have to call your shot. Every time, you’re saying, ‘I’m going to put it at a place, and I have to follow it up. It’s a different level of confidence. I’ll make an argument against anybody in history. He’s got 14 world records. He’s pushed the bar so far. Hell, he could do any event he wanted. But the special thing is the dominance.”
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