Sweden’s Armand Duplantis captured the gold medal event in the pole vault after setting a world record of 6.25 meters. Duplantis, who sealed the top spot after clearing the six-meter mark, clocked an Olympic record of 6.10 meters with his next attempt. The 24-year-old would then go on to break his world-best mark of 6.24 meters that he set in April as he smashed the world record for the ninth time. Duplantis becomes the first athlete since the United States’ Bob Richards in 1956 to retain the Olympic pole vault title. “I haven’t processed how fantastic that moment was. The biggest dream since a kid was to break the world record at the Olympics, and I’ve been able to do that in front of the most ridiculous crowd I’ve ever competed in front of,” said Armand Duplantis. Duplantis first broke a record in the under seven category before setting world records at every record until he reached senior level. The two-time world champion went on to break the world record for the first time at age 20, surpassing France's Renaud Lavillenie’s mark, which stood for nearly six years.