TOKYO (AP) — Armand “Mondo” Duplantis traded handshakes and hugs with the pole vaulters he'd just beaten to capture his third world championship.
He took a leisurely walk toward the stands to talk to his parents, his brother, his fiancee.
Then, like any great performer in a jam-packed stadium, he turned around, walked back onstage and delivered the encore the people had been waiting for.
It was another world record — the 14th time he's set it — by clearing the bar at 6.30 meters.
Duplantis cleared it on his third and final attempt. It came more than a half hour after the racing on Day 3 of the championships was wrapped up for the evening. But nobody in the crowd of 53,000 would dare walk out on Mondo. And Mondo made a point of wringing every drop of drama out of an experience few in th