Swedish pole vault superstar Armand "Mondo" Duplantis clinched his seventh senior-level global title at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, on Saturday.Duplantis cleared 6.15 meters in the final, but the victory was far from a walk in the park.
Greece's Emmanouil Karalis proved a formidable challenger, matching the Scandinavian's every move up to the 6.05-meter mark.The duel was on, with both men clearing 6.05 meters without a hitch.
It was only when the bar was raised to 6.10 meters that the Swede began to assert his dominance, going over the height on his second attempt, while Karalis failed.
Duplantis then proceeded to clear 6.15 meters, while Sam Kendricks of the USA earned the bronze with a mark of 5.90 meters.Grant Holloway, the reigning 60 meter hurdles champion, demonstrated his class as he clinched his third straight title, stopping the clock in 7.42 seconds and extending his remarkable 11-year winning streak.
The American hurdler was in a league of his own in the final, finishing 0.12 seconds ahead of France's Wilhem Belocian.China's Liu Junxi narrowly missed out on silver, securing bronze in 7.55 seconds, just 0.01 seconds behind Belocian."I never expected to stand on the podium.
My goal was just to make the final.
I feel like I haven't fully expressed my potential yet," said the 21-year-old Liu.Swiss sprinter Mujinga Kambundji delivered a scintillating performance in the women's 60 meters, bagging the gold in 7.04 seconds, narrowly edging Italy's Zaynab Dosso by a mere 0.02 seconds.
In a historic moment for Luxembourg, Patrizia van der Weken earned her nation's first-ever world indoor medal, taking bronze in 7.07 seconds.American runners also made history in the men's 400 meters by sweeping the podium.
Chris Bailey maintained a commanding lead from start to finish, crossing the line in 45.08 seconds.
Brian Faust, grimacing through his final strides, matched his personal best of 45.47 seconds for silver, while Jacory Patterson took bronze in 45.54 seconds.Britain's Amber Anning, just two weeks after being disqualified and breaking down in tears at the European Indoor Championships, found redemption in Nanjing by claiming gold in the women's 400 meters.
In a tense final lap, Anning surged ahead in the final straight to edge out Alexis Holmes of the USA by just 0.03 seconds, clocking a winning time of 50.60 seconds.
European indoor champion Henriette Jaeger took bronze in 50.92 seconds.In the women's triple jump, Cuba's Leyanis Perez Hernandez clinched the gold with a world-leading jump of 14.93 meters, her only valid leap of the competition.
Her compatriot Liadagmis Povea took silver at 14.57 meters, while Spain's Ana Peleteiro-Compaore secured bronze at 14.29 meters.Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen secured his first world indoor title in the men's 3,000 meters, narrowly defeating Ethiopia's Berihu Aregawi.
The 24-year-old Scandinavian held back in the early stages, allowing the African to set the pace in the closing laps.
But on the final lap, Ingebrigtsen made his move, surging to victory in 7:46.09, with Aregawi claiming silver and Australia's Ky Robinson finishing third.In the women's 3,000 meters, Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu captured her second world indoor title in a time of 8:37.21, edging out the Shelby Houlihan of the USA and Australia's Jessica Hull for gold.France's Marie-Julie Bonnin rose to prominence by setting a national record in the women's pole vault by clearing 4.75 meters to secure her first global gold.
Slovenia's Tina Sutej and Switzerland's Angelica Moser took silver and bronze, respectively, both clearing 4.70 meters.