A 20-year-old USA-born Swede just broke the pole-vaulting world record, and said he wanted to do it since he was 3 years old

The 20-year-old cleared 6.17 meters in Poland on Saturday, which beat the previous record by a centimeter.
It is a huge statement of intent in an Olympic year, ahead of the 2020 Games in Tokyo this summer.
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A 20-year-old USA-born Swedish pole-vaulter just broke his sport's world record, and said after that he had wanted to do it since he was 3 years old.

It all went down at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meet in Torun, Poland, on Saturday.

Armand Duplantis, a European champion, attempted to break the 6.16 meter record set by Renaud Lavillenie in 2012, and was lining up his second attempt at the record.

Having attempted to break the record earlier in the week in Germany, Duplantis put his previous failures behind him and ran toward the crossbar, vaulted over it, and cleared it to secure a 6.17 meter record, beating Lavillenie's feat by a centimeter.

Watch it here:

"It's something that I wanted since I was three years old," Duplantis said, according to Sky Sports . "It's a big year, but it's a good way to start it."

The new record will need to be ratified by World Athletics before it is made official, and Duplantis will be subject to a doping test, Sky Sports reports, but it is a huge statement of intent in an Olympic year.

The 2020 Games in Tokyo begin on Friday, July 24 and finish on Sunday, August 9.

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