Sawt Falasteen - Sweden's Duplantis retains European pole vault title

Duplantis, fresh from breaking his own world record in Eugene as he clinched world gold with 6.21 metres last month, set a championship record of 6.06 metres for gold at the Olympic Stadium.

Germany's Bo Kanda Lita Baehre claimed silver with a best of 5.85m, while Norway's Pal Haugen Lillefosse took bronze (5.75).

Coming into the continental showpiece, Duplantis was on an 18-competition winning streak and was once again a class apart from a field that struggled throughout in cool, damp conditions.

Duplantis came in at 5.65m, with two rivals already out of the reckoning.

The US-born Swede sailed over that mark, a further trio of vaulters falling by the wayside, and passed at 5.75m, as did France's three-time European champion and former Olympic gold medallist Renaud Lavillenie.

The Frenchman faltered three times at 5.85m, however, while Duplantis flew over at that mark. Similar successes came at 5.90 and 5.95m.

Lita Baehre was by that stage out of the competition, so Duplantis had the bar raised to 6.06m.

The Swede readied himself, launching down the runway and propelling himself well clear to better by 1cm the previous championship best set by the Soviet and Ukrainian great Sergey Bubka.

Any thoughts of a fresh bid at bettering his own world record were short-lived, however, Duplantis quickly telling officials he'd had enough.

R.Shaban--SF-PST