Mondo sets sights on world record at Birmingham 2026
10th November 2025Newly-crowned male athlete of the year, Armand Duplantis has revealed his ambitions to break the men’s pole vault record at next summer’s Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships.
“I guess I haven't broken the world record at the European champs?” he pondered in an exclusive video interview with European Athletics.
“So that would be – yes - that's something that I have to do. That'd be great if I was able to do it in Birmingham.
“So, yeah, I just got to lock in. I can make it happen. I guess less talking and more doing? So, it’s just up to me to make sure that I'm in the right shape and that I'm ready to do when it comes time. But I'm excited for Birmingham.”
He has set the world record on 14 separate occasions since 2020, including four times last year, leaving the mark at an enormous 6.30m in Tokyo, when winning his third world title in Tokyo in September.
But he has yet to break the world record at the European Athletics Championships, although he did set a world U20 record when winning his first major title at Berlin 2018.
In the same interview, he reflected on another superb year which also saw him win his third gold at the World Indoor Championships, triumph for the fifth time at the Diamond League Final and win his third male athlete of the year award at the European Athletics Golden Track Awards.
The Swedish superstar said: “It's quite hard to have everything sink in and for me to understand and really grasp everything that's been going on and everything I have been able to achieve.
"But I think being able to win and be honoured such amazing prizes, like this award right here, I think that helps me to be able to take in everything and really appreciate what I have done."
The Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships on 10-16 August will be one of the biggest international sporting events next year. It will be the first time the championships have ever taken place in the United Kingdom.