World record holder Mondo Duplantis returns to the FBK Games

Pole vault world record holder Mondo Duplantis has joined the list of star-studded names that will take part at the FBK Games in Hengelo on June 4th 2023.

Duplantis will go in search of his third win at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadium, having bettered the Meeting Record with a 6.10m clearance in 2021. That is the highest vault recorded on Dutch soil, and a height only he and Sergey Bubka have bettered. Last year, in wet and cold weather, he claimed his second FBK Games win in as many years with another clearance greater than six meters, 6.01m.

Last year’s visit to the FBK Games was the second competition of an outdoor season that saw the 23-year-old Swedish athlete claim his first outdoor World Championship title, improving his own World Record to 6.21m in the process. He also claimed a second European Championship gold and a second Diamond League trophy. Impressively, he cleared the elusive six-meter mark at eight competitions outdoors in 2022, the first being in Hengelo.

Despite not competing at this month’s European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Duplantis added one centimeter to the World Record at the All Star Perche in Clermont-Ferrand, France, in February. It was his sixth world record in three years, a feat that backs up his dominance in recent years, having won 53 of his last 56 competitions.

Ahead of his third visit to the FBK Games, Duplantis said:

“This year will be my third time at the FBK Games in Hengelo. I have very fond memories of my first time there in 2021 jumping a meeting record of 6,10m, and last year the enthusiasm in the stadium was incredible. The crowd in the grandstands always cheers me on creating this amazing atmosphere that gives me extra energy. I can’t wait to return and experience it all again! Also, the FBK Stadium is a place where you can really deliver and jump high, so I am looking forward to seeing what I can do in Hengelo this year.”

Ellen van Langen, Meeting Director for the FBK Games, added: “It is fantastic for our competition to welcome an athlete like Mondo Duplantis for the third year in a row. Mondo enjoys pole vaulting in Hengelo because of the atmosphere, but also because it’s a good place to jump high.”

Do you want to see Armand Duplantis live during the FBK Games on June 4th? Then get your tickets now!