The pole vault qualification began at 10:10, which meant that Armand Duplantis had to get up significantly earlier than he prefers to do.
As early as 06:30, the alarm clock rang at the 24-year-old's hotel, an early wake-up call that he felt during the qualification.
It was early in the morning and it's not so pleasant for the body. I don't usually get up that early, but much later, he says.
But I tried to make it as easy as possible, just do two jumps and save energy for the final.
Easy qualification for Duplantis
If the wake-up call was tough, the qualification was something else for Duplantis.
The star cleared the entry height of 5.40, stepped in at 5.60 – which he was highly, highly above – and then cleared 5.75 just as easily. That's what was needed to secure a spot in the final on Monday.
It felt good, it was easy enough, he says.
Duplantis' plan for the qualification involved a lot of downtime.
He had 50 minutes until his first jump and then had to wait 75 minutes for the next one.
In the meantime, he took in the atmosphere at the arena.
It's the craziest thing I've ever experienced, especially when it comes to qualification. I can't even imagine how it's going to be at the final, he says.
I think they went too hard on Thibaut (Collet), they probably scared him. When he jumped, it shook in there.
Home jumper Collet did not advance to the final, he stopped at 5.70 after ripping three times at 5.75. American Christopher Nielsen, OS silver medalist in Tokyo 2021, also failed to clear, only managing 5.40.
Aiming for gold
Armand Duplantis is in Paris to defend his gold from Tokyo – and is perhaps the most obvious gold candidate in the Olympic Games.
He has long been superior, winning all the competitions he participates in and constantly pushing the world record.
The big question is how high the 24-year-old will jump.
Last time he jumped on a similar surface was in the Diamond League premiere in China.
In Xiamen, he cleared 6.24, the current world record.
He himself is not quite there. He thinks first and foremost about winning.
That's the most important thing, to bring home the gold.
