Tampere, Finland – Mondo Duplantis cleared 5.82 meters (19-1.00) to claim gold while setting a championship record on Saturday morning at Ratina Stadium in Finland at the 2018 IAAF U20 World Championships.
The clear favorite in the event, Duplantis brought home the gold medal for Sweden with ease. The clearance of 5.82 meters broke German Chiaraviglio’s meet record that he set back in 2006 while representing Argentina. Already the world junior record holder with a clearance of 5.93 meters (19-5.50) at the Louisiana State Championships in May, Duplantis attempted to clear 6.01 meters (19-8.50) three times before bowing out. The incoming freshman now has two world titles, this one, and a U18 world title from 2015.
“This is a huge relief to me because the competition was something I really needed to win and I had a huge pressure, but that also gave me some extra motivation,” Duplantis mentioned in an interview with iaaf.org. “It’s a really special moment; this has been one of the really important steps.”
Competing for the second time this week, rising sophomore JuVaughn Blake closed out his freshman campaign with a bronze medal in the high jump with a personal-best clearance of 2.23 meters (7-3.75). Pulling off an impressive double at the world meet (long and high jump), Blake bookends his initial collegiate campaign as a world bronze medalist, the No. 3 high jumper in LSU history, and a two-time U.S. junior national champion.
These two performances cap off an excellent week for the Purple and Gold in Finland. The Tigers ended up winning three world titles and a bronze medal.
The weekend isn’t done yet for LSU track and field as three athletes with ties to LSU will compete at the inaugural Athletics World Cup in London today and Sunday. Kymber Payne (400m hurdles/USA) and Jahnoy Thompson (200m dash/Jamaica) will be in action on Saturday, and Mikiah Brisco will run as a member of the 4×100 meter relay for Team USA on Sunday.
Payne – Saturday – 2 p.m. CT – 400m hurdles
Thompson – Saturday – 2:27 p.m. CT – 200m dash
Brisco – Sunday – 3:20 p.m. CT – 4x100m relay