World pole vault record-holder eventually beaten by lack of light after brilliant battle with Sam Kendricks at exhibition event

Mondo Duplantis and Sam Kendricks created more pole vault history in Lausanne on Wednesday evening as they both soared over 6.02m to make it the first time two athletes have achieved the feat during one competition, before world record-holder Duplantis went on to also clear 6.07m.

The winning mark is the best outdoor clearance for 26 years, with Duplantis breaking the Diamond League record as well as his own Swedish outdoor record.

He went on to attempt what would have been a world outdoor record of 6.15m but the man who cleared 6.18m in Glasgow in February was eventually beaten only by the fading light at the street athletics exhibition event and he called it a day after one attempt at the historic height.

“When Sam is on fire it just makes me get that momentum,” said Duplantis. “He was jumping so well that it made me want to live up to what he was doing.

“Whether we had any light or not, we were just out there having such a great time.

“I love to compete and you can’t get better than that competition there,” added the 20-year-old. “It didn’t really even matter about the height, it was just such a great competition.”

The USA’s two-time world champion Kendricks, who jumped 6.06m outdoors last year, entered the competition at 5.32m, while Duplantis started at 5.62m.

Kendricks needed two attempts at 5.62m but had an impressive nine first-time clearances before he was unable to clear 6.07m. Duplantis achieved every height he tried on his first attempt except 6.15m when the conditions were getting too dark.

Olympic champion Thiago Braz and former world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie finished third and fourth respectively after both clearing 5.72m.

Over in the women’s competition Angelica Bengtsson secured a Swedish double by clearing 4.72m to win ahead of British record-holder Holly Bradshaw.

Bengtsson managed 4.34m, 4.44m and 4.54m on her first attempts before needing two tries at 4.64m and three at her winning height, while Bradshaw entered at 4.54m and managed that and 4.64m on her first attempts.

Angelica Moser and Michaela Meijer both also cleared a best of 4.64m to finish third and fourth respectively.

“This has been a beautiful experience, the energy from the fans has been amazing and the city is a great backdrop,” said Bengtsson. “I’m happy to be able to come out and put on a show for the fans and hopefully help to lift their spirit as it has been a tough year for everyone.”

Bradshaw said: “It was really important to come out here today and perform for the fans considering everything that has happened this year.

“The competition was great and I really enjoyed being able to compete alongside the male athletes as we were able to feed off the energy from each other while competing.”

Full results can be found here, while the live stream is available to watch back here in a number of countries, including the UK.