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Speaking exclusively on JioCinema, Armand Duplantis shared his thoughts on breaking the pole vault world record for the ninth time, reaching a height of 6.25m: “It’s one of these feelings that doesn’t feel real. It’s such an out-of-body experience. It is hard to believe that I just broke the world record at the Olympics, the biggest possible stage for a pole vaulter. My biggest dream since I was a kid was to break the world record at the Olympics, and I was able to do that in front of one of the most incredible crowds I’ve ever competed in front of.”

Duplantis described the atmosphere and the support from the crowd: “I tried to clear my thoughts as much as I could, but the crowd was just going crazy. It was so loud in there; it sounded like an American football game. I have some experience of that, going to Louisiana State University in a 100,000-capacity stadium. But I was never in the midst of it as the center of attention. I just tried to channel the energy which everybody was giving me, and they gave me a lot of it. It worked out.”

He further discussed his confidence and preparation: “I felt really confident going into the event, and I wasn’t nervous. I don’t know how to explain it. Now I’m quite experienced at the highest stage. I’ve always had this confidence about myself when it came to pole vaulting. It’s not necessarily about everything, but when it comes to pole vaulting, I’ve always had a lot of confidence in my abilities.”