Stockholm Diamond League: Marschall stuns Duplantis, ends 40-win run

Australia's Kurtis Marschall ended Armand Duplantis' 40-win streak at the Stockholm Diamond League. Marschall won with a 5.90m clearance, while the Swedish star failed to clear 6m in a stunning upset in front of his home crowd.

Australia's Kurtis Marschall produced a stunning upset at the Stockholm Diamond League on Sunday, defeating Olympic champion Armand Duplantis and ending the Swedish star's remarkable run of 40 consecutive victories in men's pole vault.

Competing in front of the home crowd, Duplantis had arrived in Stockholm with hopes of breaking his own world record of 6.31 metres for the 16th time in his career, according to Reuters. However, the Olympic and world champion struggled to find his rhythm and eventually settled for second place after failing to clear six metres. Marschall secured victory with a clearance of 5.90m on his third attempt, while Duplantis could not clear either six metres or a final attempt at 6.05m.

Duplantis Reacts to Shock Defeat

"It was time to lose, it was a very long time (since the last time). I can't fathom that I won 40 in a row, it's pretty sick, but it's also sick that I lose in Stockholm, which is the most important competition of the year for me," Duplantis told Swedish broadcaster SVT, as per Reuters.

"This is not the last time I will lose, but I hope it's the last time I lose in Stockholm. I'm going to make sure of that, that it doesn't happen again," he added.

The competition began on an uncertain note for the 26-year-old Swede when he failed his opening attempt at 5.60m. Although he cleared the height on his second try and comfortably negotiated 5.80m, he was unable to build momentum as the bar was raised. Despite the disappointment, Duplantis remained philosophical and hinted that his focus may have been partly on his upcoming wedding. "You're either lucky in love or lucky in life. The wedding is soon, so maybe it's a huge silver lining to the whole thing," the Swede said. "It's a shame, because I really didn't want to have a bad performance here in Stockholm, where so many support me and give me love."

Other Highlights from Stockholm

Elsewhere at the Diamond League meeting, world champion Melissa Jefferson Wooden claimed victory in the women's 100 metres with a time of 10.84 seconds.

American sprinter Kenny Bednarek dominated the men's 200m, clocking 19.87 seconds and emerging as the only athlete in the field to break the 20-second mark.

One of the standout performances of the day came in the men's 800m, where 17-year-old American Cooper Lutkenhaus ran a season-best 1:42.70 to secure victory ahead of Canada's Marco Arop, while Algeria's Slimane Moula finished third. (ANI)

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