World records fall as the track and field world championships concluded over the weekend

As the weekend came to a close Sunday evening in Eugene, Oregon, there was only one athlete left competing and he was doing so with himself and his own world record. Swede Armand “Mondo” Duplantis was the lone pole vaulter left in the competition and no longer had his eye on the gold medal as the prize since he had already won that.

Mondo was after the world record which the 22-year-old phenom set himself in March at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. Duplantis was the gold medal winner last year in Tokyo, but was chasing a world title at historic Hayward Field to add to his collection.

“It’s great; I cannot complain,” Duplantis said. “Actually, I did not think about the record that much today ... I really wanted to win the gold so badly. It was the medal I was missing.

American Christopher Nislen finished in second place with a vault of 5.94 meters, but Duplantis soared past him with a finishing height of 6.21m marking the fifth time the young Swede has broken the world record.

Duplantis was not the only athlete to break a world record over the weekend, however. The last three days of the World Championships brought more fireworks than a Fourth of July celebration.

On Friday night, Sydney McLaughlin also broke her own record in the 400m hurdles to claim the title. The American had broken the world record back in June with a time of 51.14 seconds, but she crossed the finish line with a time of 50.68 sec. to break the record, yet again. It was the fourth time McLaughlin had broken the record in just 13 months.

The fact that she was able to break the record by almost an entire second is a feat of itself, but, in addition, McLaughlin would have placed seventh in the open 400m with her time. McLaughlin went on to win an additional gold medal in the 4x400m relay on Sunday night to add to her medal tally.

Nigerian Tobi Amusan also broke a world record over the weekend in the 100m hurdles after recording an incredible time of 12.12. Amusan ran an even faster time in the finals on Sunday, but a strong wind reading negated the world record. While the record may not have stood, the gold medal certainly did, marking the first gold medal won at track and field world championships for a Nigerian athlete.

With the memorable performances seen in Eugene over the ten days of competition, the track and field world has a lot to look forward to for Paris 2024. How many records can viewers expect to see go down in Paris? Only time will tell, but the path to get there should be an exciting one.