PARIS: Armand Duplantis soared over his rivals in clinching back-to-back Olympic pole vault crowns on Monday with a new world record as Keely Hodgkinson won Britain’s first gold of the Paris Games on the track with a sensational 800m final victory.

Swedish star Duplantis cemented his status as the greatest pole vaulter in history with a superb display, blowing the roof off the Stade de France with a world record-breaking final leap of 6.25 metres. The 24-year-old Duplantis, popularly known as "Mondo”, is the first man to win consecutive Olympic pole vault golds since the USA’s Bob Richards, who achieved the feat with victories in 1952 and 1956. In perfect, warm conditions in Paris, defending champion Duplantis never looked like being threatened by his rivals as he clinched victory. The only suspense in a dominant performance was whether the US-born Swede could break his own world record to crown victory.

He duly delivered with his third and final attempt, beating his previous best of 6.24m to deafening roars of appreciation from the Parisian crowd. American Sam Kendricks won silver with a best of 5.95m, Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis taking bronze (5.90). "What can I say? I just broke a world record at the Olympics, biggest possible stage for a pole vaulter,” Duplantis said after his incredible performance. "The biggest dream since a kid was to break the world record at the Olympics, and I’ve been able to do that in front of the most ridiculous crowd I’ve ever competed in front of.”

Duplantis’s gold was one of four titles up for grabs at the Stade de France on Monday. On the track, British middle distance runner Hodgkinson finally ended her long wait to capture a major global championship title with gold in the 800m. Hodgkinson, who had claimed three consecutive silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the World Championships in 2022 and 2023, led from start-to-finish to win in 1min 56.72sec. Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma claimed silver in 1:57.15 and Kenya’s Mary Moraa took bronze (1:57.42).

"I have worked really hard for the last year and I think you can see how much it meant to me when I crossed the line. I can’t believe I have finally done it,” Hodgkinson, 22, told the BBC after her triumph.

Chebet ends Hassan dream

In the women’s 5,000m Kenya’s "smiling assassin” Beatrice Chebet dethroned the Netherlands’ defending champion Sifan Hassan with a tactical masterclass. The pre-race hype had focused on the Ethiopian-born Hassan’s attempt to win an improbable treble of 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon golds at the same Olympics.

But Hassan’s dream of emulating Czech great Emil Zatopek — who completed the same triple at the 1952 Helsinki Games — was put to bed ruthlessly by Chebet. The 24-year-old 10,000m world record holder bided her time before accelerating past compatriot Faith Kipyegon down the home straight to win in 14min 28.56sec. Kipyegon, the reigning 5,000m world champion, crossed the finish line in second place but was initially disqualified for a shove on Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay with two laps to go.

However she was reinstated on appeal, leaving Hassan with bronze. In the women’s discus, American Valarie Allman defended her Olympic crown comfortably with a throw of 69.50m. China’s Feng Bin won silver with a best effort of 67.51m and Croatia’s Sandra Elkasevic took bronze. Elsewhere on Monday, newly-crowned 100m champion Noah Lyles sailed through the opening heats of the 200m to remain on course for a hat-trick of Olympic golds in Paris.

Lyles, who is aiming to add the 200m and 4x100m titles to his 100m crown won in thrilling fashion on Sunday, romped home in his heat in 20.19sec. "I spent years working on the 100m, but the 200 is where it’s at,” Lyles said. "This is where I get to show my speed and endurance and my top-end speed. "This is where I get to show I’m stronger than everybody else.” – AFP