First 6.17 and a week later 6.18.

Armand Duplantis had perfect form for last winter's indoor season and jumped with only six months left to the Olympics in Tokyo higher than any pole vaulter had jumped before.

A year later, he has managed to jump the world's highest outdoor jump (6.15) and dominated another indoor season.

In other words, the favorite for the postponed championship in Tokyo this summer could hardly be greater.

However, that does not stop Armand Duplantis from raising expectations further.

- It feels very good, I feel in good shape, he says.

- I should not say these things, because it only increases the pressure even more.

But it feels very good to jump right now.

It feels good on the track and I have good self-confidence before each competition.

Time for the premiere

But it has also gone well - "better than ever" - in training, the 21-year-old reveals.

On the competition track, it has been 6.10 at its best during the winter, and when the outdoor season kicked off in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the end of April, he jumped 5.90 with too short an approach.

This means that self-confidence is at its peak before the real outdoor premiere, in Ostrava, Czech Republic on Wednesday.

- With two and a half months left until the Olympics, it feels like I'm where I want to be.

So I long to start competing again.

TT: You say that it went better than ever in training.

What does that mean?

- It means exactly what you think.

That I have jumped better than ever in training.

TT: Does that also mean higher than ever?

- (laughs) It probably means about the same thing in what I'm doing.

But yes, I have jumped high on training.

Especially for me, who does not usually jump so high in training.

- It feels very good on the track right now, so I long to show what I can do.

"Over six meters"

After a training stay at home in Louisiana, Armand Duplantis has now moved to his second home in Uppsala to recharge before the Olympics.

A gala in Ostrava awaits on Wednesday, followed by the Diamond League premiere in Gateshead in the north-east of England on Sunday.

- Ostrava will be important to see where I stand, how running, technique, rhythm and timing work.

I hope for good conditions, because I would like to set up something big early.

And that means, in pole vaulting language, at least 6.00.

- I feel in good shape, so I am capable of over six meters absolutely.

Anything over six meters is fine.

CLIP: Duplantis: "Have dreamed of the Olympics since I was little" (May 10, 2021)

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Armand Duplantis.

Photo: Bildbyrån