The China Mail - Sky's the limit for Duplantis ahead of 'super-sick' Tokyo worlds

The US-born Swede has been in electric form, setting a 13th world record, of 6.29 metres, in Budapest on Tuesday to further seal his claim as one of the best track and field athletes in history.

But Duplantis shies away from the bravado often shown by sprinters, reiterating that he is not bothered by the numbers game.

"I'm just making sure that all the little details and everything are very polished and that I'm really ready to go at the most important time," Duplantis said Thursday ahead of the Diamond League meet in Silesia, Poland.

"It's a lot of recognition," he conceded of setting multiple world records.

"It's always an amazing feeling and I'm always super grateful, and it feels kind of surreal in a way every time I've been able to push the record a little bit higher."

A return to Tokyo's Olympic Stadium for the September 13-21 world champs, with a full crowd compared to the empty tribunes in 2021 because of the pandemic, left Duplantis "super excited".

"I have super high expectations," he said. "It's going to super sick, honestly.

"I think the atmosphere is going to be insane. Then it's just up to me to enjoy it and channel what everybody's giving me and try to put on a good show."

But the 25-year-old, who has used the same pole to set the last 10 world records, again played down expectations of how high he thought the bar might be raised to.

"I just love competing," he said. "It doesn't matter how many world records that I break.

"When it comes to sports in general, you always have to prove yourself on the day because nobody just gives you anything, it's all earned.

"They don't just give me the trophy because I'm the favourite. I still have to go out there and have to compete. I have to be on my A game, and I have to earn my title as the one that's going to be the best and last man standing on that day every time."

- No special magic number -

As for the 6.30m mark and beyond, Duplantis added: "I don't want to lie and make something up and act like there's some special magic number that I'm aiming for that's always in the back of my mind when it's really not the case, because I'm really not very super fixated on anything in particular.

"I feel like I'm very much somebody that lives in the present moment and I try to maximise and achieve the most that I can in the now."

That said, the Swede then fired out a warning, saying he knew he was going "to keep jumping higher, there's a lot more to come, and I'm going to keep pushing it".

"I just try to jump as well as I can every day and I know that if I jump the way that I should jump then I should be the best guy on the track and I should be the guy that's the last man standing."

Duplantis also said he had vastly improved, both physically and mentally, over recent years, allowing him an unprecedented consistency in competition.

"I'm just better in every way," he said. "I'm more experienced. I have a better understanding... how to take care of myself and my body and what to do to remain in good shape, also just better performing and getting the most of myself on each given day.

"There's going to be a day where I'm not going to jump very well, but that happens. Doesn't happen that often, though, and it probably won't happen two times in a row."

G.Fung--ThChM