Athlete Armand Duplantis again broke the world record as well as his personal record by reaching 6.23 meters at the 2023 Diamond League Final in Eugene, United States, Sunday (17/9).
The Olympic pole vault champion broke his personal record which he previously achieved at the All-Star Perche event in Clermont-Ferrard, France, with a record of 6.22 meters, last February.
This is the seventh time he has broken a world record and the second time he has done it outdoors. In the same place, namely in Eugene, he completed an attempt to clear the pole as high as 6.21 meters at the World Championships in Athletics last year.
Even though he has broken world records and personal records in a row, Duplantis admits that he does not want to be complacent and ensures that he will have many surprises, especially in the period of collecting qualifying points for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"The limit for me is still very high, and I hope I can continue to jump well and continue to jump higher than I did today," said Duplantis, quoted from the official Olympic website, Monday.
"However, for now, I'm not really thinking about anything except enjoying this moment and enjoying what I've just done," added the Swedish athlete.
He continued, throughout the tournaments he participated in, he only had a simple mindset, namely "trying to jump high". His love for this sport has existed and continues to grow since childhood, and continues to be his motivation to develop as a professional athlete.
"I really love pole vaulting and I've loved it since I was little. If I can take pole vaulting to a higher level and I can get as many people as possible to watch it by jumping really high and doing some cool things, then that's the job for me do it well," explained Duplantis.
"Here (Eugene), the track is very fast, the crowd and the energy are amazing. Everything is in line with what I need to be able to break the world record," he said.
London : Arsenal coach defends the team's rotation policy in the English Premier League
Spaniard Mikel Arteta, coach of Arsenal, defended the rotation policy he is adopting with the London team during the current season.
Arteta surprised everyone, after he decided not to include goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus in Arsenal's main roster during his meeting with host Everton, which ended with the London team winning 1-0 on Sunday in the English Premier League.
Arteta used Spanish goalkeeper David Raya, loaned to Arsenal, to make his first appearance with the team, in the match that was held at Goodison Park, Everton’s stronghold.
When asked about his decision to start in Raya, Arteta said: “It is the same logic behind playing Fabio (Vieira) here or Eddie (Nketiah) or Gabriel Jesus (who came on to the field in the 66th minute).”
Arteta added in his statements, which were reported by the British news agency (BA Media): “Not a single question was asked in the dressing room about the reason for Gabriel Jesus’ non-participation. “He has won more titles than anyone else, including me.”
Arteta, whose team was far from convincing despite winning the match and achieving its fourth victory in the tournament this season against a single draw, explained that he would be ready to benefit from two goalkeepers in one match.
The Spanish coach pointed out: “I cannot field two players in each position and not push them.” "David has huge potential, like Aaron and Karl (Heyne), and we have to exploit it."
He continued: “I am a really young coach and I only got this position three and a half years ago, and I do not feel any regrets about what we have done.”
With this victory, Arsenal got rid of the complex (Goodison Park Stadium), the stronghold of the Everton team, after achieving its first victory at its competitor’s stadium in the English Premier League in nearly 6 years.
Arsenal's last victory at Everton Stadium dates back to October 2017, when it defeated the Blue Team 5-2, suffering 4 defeats and one draw, during the last 5 matches that took place between the two teams at this stadium.
Arsenal, runner-up last season, rose to 13 points in fourth place, two points behind Manchester City (leader), the defending champion in the last three seasons.
On the other hand, Everton's score, which suffered its fourth loss in the tournament this season and its third at home this season, stopped at one point in eighteenth place (third from the bottom).