Armand Duplantis has been in his life form during the winter and looked forward to the Tokyo Olympics this summer. But yesterday, IOC delegate Dick Pound announced that the IOC has decided to postpone the Olympics, and today the decision became official.

- What came out yesterday was a bit of a "teaser", that it was clearly not yet. And today the message came that the Olympics were postponed. There was no major shock. A few weeks ago it had been a shock but the last few weeks have led to this so I was quite mentally prepared. That's what it is, the situation sucks, but it's the same for everyone - everyone has to wait a year. Some things are bigger than sports, says the 20-year-old to SVT Sport.

The decision to postpone the Olympics to 2021 was the right one, Duplantis says.

- I understand the decision, it was more or less the only decision they could make. But at the same time I am in very good shape and I felt that I had a good chance of going for gold. But I trust my ability to be good next year.

Could it even be an advantage for you who are young that the Olympics are postponed?

- I will be 21 next year and have even more experience. It might even be better.

The Corona pandemic has obviously touched on Duplantis, who has had a hard time catching up with recent weeks' events.

- It's crazy, it still doesn't feel "real" what's happening now.

Duplantis is currently with his parents in Louisiana, USA, where he follows the daily updates and trains as best he can.

- I'm back in the garden. It's not much, but that's where it all began. I'm trying to do what I can right now, but it's tough. I try to follow all the guidelines and not be out of people.

Although the Olympics are now postponed, Duplantis hopes that some smaller competitions will be out this season.

- The Olympics are not the only reason I train. I love to compete and see where my boundaries go. If there are competitions this season, I will bet 100 percent and train as hard as I would have done for the Olympics. So if there are competitions, all motivation will be there.

LIST: Three reasons why the Olympics are postponed

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