Paris 2024 Olympics, gold and new world record for Armand Duplantis

A jaw-dropping world record.

Armand Duplantis wins the gold medal in the pole vault at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Not only that: thanks to his unprecedented feat (the Swede reaches a height of 6.25 meters) comes a new world record in the category. And for him è the ninth world record in the last four years. Silver for American Sam Kendricks, bronze to Greek Emmanouil Karalis.

Duplantis'feat had come within minutes of Nadia Battocletti's bronze in the women's 5,000 meters. The medal count at Paris 2024 thus rises to a total of 26 for the Italian expedition. Italy had won a total of 40 medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting a new record for spoils in a single edition of the Games. On that occasion, there had been 10 gold medals, as many silver medals and 20 bronze medals.

Nadia Battocletti’s third place stems from a disqualification to Faith Kipyegon, who had crossed the finish line second behind newly crowned Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet (both Kenyans) but after pushing Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay. In this way the silver è went to the Dutch Sifan Hassan and the bronze to the Italian athlete.

Battocletti, who battled for the entire event with the best on the track, goes on to medal in the same day that had greeted the gold of Diana Bacosi and Gabriele Rossetti in the mixed skeet and the great feat in gymnastics, with the resounding gold of Alice D'Amato and the bronze of Manila Esposito in the beam.