teased the crowd with two near misses, before sliding over the bar on his final attempt, releasing an explosion of energy in the stadium.

Duplantis and Karalis have been competing against each other since they were 15, and both were on the podium at the World U18 Championships. Duplantis has won 38 times out of 39 meetings, that one anomaly from the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, when both were 18. 

Featuring three of the top four pole vaulters in history, this competition was always shaping as historic.

Duplantis is not only raising his own standards year on year, but he is lifting his competitors.

For the first time, seven men cleared 5.90 in one competition, seven men attempted six metres, and a 5.95m clearance was not enough to win a medal.

Two-time world champion Sam Kendricks is the luckless owner of that statistic, beaten by Kurtis Marschall on a countback for the bronze medal as the Australian repeated his third placing from Budapest two years ago.

Marschall was delighted to win a second global medal, and equal his personal best, but the six-metre barrier remained elusive.

“To come away with a medal against all these guys in this generation of pole vaulting is outrageous,” he said. “Jumping 5.95m on a global stage to come third is unheard of prior to this generation. I hope I can inspire more people to give it a crack because I’m not that good at what I do, but I have just knuckled down.”

As for Duplantis, the Australian said: “Mondo is from another planet. He is doing incredible things, things many people thought were impossible.” 

Renaud Lavillenie – the 2012 Olympic champion, former world record-holder and part-time Duplantis mentor – notably finished eighth at the age of 38, after clearing 5.75m at the first attempt.