Armand Duplantis loses first pole vault competition in nearly three years, beaten by Kurtis Marschall in Stockholm

Armand Duplantis, the world record holder and dominant figure in men's pole vault, lost a competition for the first time since July 2023 on Sunday, finishing second at his home Diamond League meeting in Stockholm's Olympic Stadium. The 26-year-old Swede, who had won 40 consecutive competitions, cleared 5.80 metres but failed at three subsequent attempts, leaving the door open for Australia's Kurtis Marschall to take the win with a 5.90-metre clearance.

An uncharacteristic start

The competition began with an unusual misstep for Duplantis, who missed his opening height of 5.60 metres on his first attempt. He cleared it on his second try and then sailed over 5.80 metres on his first attempt. Meanwhile, the field thinned out, with France's Thierry, the Netherlands' Vloon, and the United States' Bradford all exiting at 5.90 metres. Marschall, a two-time World Championship bronze medallist, needed three attempts to clear 5.90 metres, a height Duplantis had elected to pass.

The decisive misses

With the bar raised to 6.00 metres, Duplantis missed twice. He then moved the bar to 6.05 metres for his final attempt, a height he normally clears with ease, but could not get over it. The miss sealed his first loss after 40 straight victories, 20 of which came in Diamond League competition. His last defeat was at the Monaco meeting on 21 July 2023, where American Chris Nilsen won and Duplantis placed fourth.

I wish I were a little angrier, but I'm not really. I apologise to everyone who is here. I would have liked to be a little better with you. At the same time, I'm getting married right after.

A gracious runner-up

Despite the shock result, Duplantis was seen warmly congratulating Marschall after the event. The Swede, who holds the 17 best clearances in history and last broke his own world record with a 6.31-metre jump in Uppsala on 12 March, is preparing for his wedding celebration in the south of France in the coming days. He had a civil marriage to Swedish model Désiré Inglander in March.

Other Stockholm highlights

The meeting featured several other notable performances. Swiss 800-metre runner Audrey Werro clocked 1:53.98, the third-fastest time in history, beating Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain. In the women's long jump, Italy's Larissa Iapichino lost by a single centimetre, her 6.84-metre leap edged out by France's Hilary Kpatcha at 6.85 metres. American sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won the women's 100 metres in 10.84 seconds, bouncing back from a 200-metre loss in Rome on Thursday.