World record-holder Armand Duplantis pulled out of the highly-anticipated men’s pole vault competition at the Diamond League finals in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday.
Duplantis, the 26-year-old US-born Swede, experienced slight discomfort in his thigh during the warm-up and therefore, decided to pull out of the event.
Duplantis, who had won the last five Diamond League finals and holds the current world record at 6.31m, shook hands with the six other competitors, leaving Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis the stand-out favourite to win.
Earlier in the season, Duplantis was also forced to pull out of the Diamond League meeting in London with leg tightness in July.
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“This problem in my leg started in London. It felt okay since then and I put a lot of work in, but the pain came back in Zurich. I pushed through it, probably a little bit too much. I said that if I felt this irritation during my warm-up, I wasn´t going to jump. Therefore, I made the difficult decision not to start,” said Duplantis.
“The worst possible thing to do is having to pull out of a competition. The fans wanted to see a good show and I wish I could deliver that. Unfortunately, I can´t do that right now. My head is everywhere right now. It’s super difficult but that’s the life of an athlete. I try to stay calm and positive.”
The latest withdrawal raises questions over Duplantis’ fitness a week before the World Athletics Ultimate Championships.
“We will see if I can make it to the Ultimate Championships. I don´t have the answer right now,” he said.
The inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships is scheduled for September 11 to 13 in Budapest. It offers a record USD 10 million prize fund, with each individual champion pocketing USD150,000, the biggest winner’s cheque in track & field history.
Published on Sep 04, 2026
