2025 World Athletics Championships – Men's pole vault

The men's pole vault at the 2025 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Stadium in Tokyo on 13 and 15 September 2025.^[1]

Armand Duplantis entered the competition as the favourite, having won every major championship, from 2020 onwards. The field also included Emmanouil Karalis, who moved into the #4 position of all time with a 6.08m clearance earlier in the year, Sam Kendricks, the only man to beat Duplantis at a major championship, at the 2019 Championships when Duplantis was 19. Even former world record holder, about to turn 39, Renaud Lavillenie was present. It took 5.75 in the qualifying round to make the final.

Eight men were still vaulting at 5.90m, Lavillenie having passed 5.85m to get there. Karalis, Kurtis Marschall, Thibaut Collet, Sondre Guttormsen and Menno Vloon cleared on their first attempts. Duplantis had already passed. After Kendricks and Lavillenie missed, they passed to 5.95m with nothing to gain at 5.90m. Duplantis cleared 5.95m on his first attempt, still with a clean round. Marschall cleared on his second attempt, setting a personal best. Kendricks' strategy paid off when he cleared on his second attempt, but with that miss at 5.90m, he was in third place. On his third attempt, Karalis was the only other one over 5.95m. At 6 meters, Karalis then Duplantis cleared. Both men passed 6.05m. At 6.10m, twenty feet, Karalis had a narrow miss. Duplantis sailed over the bar. Karalis walked over to the official to pass to 6.15m where he became only the fourth man to attempt the height. After he missed Duplantis flew over the bar and the cycle repeated. Now Karalis would be the only other person to attempt 6.20m. Karalis made a credible attempt but the bar came down making Duplantis the winner. This time he would walk to the official to pass to a new world record 6.30m. The crowd got to see a couple of rarities, first with Duplantis missing twice in a row. Then, after the long wait, on his final attempt, with a little brush on the way up, Duplantis cleared. It was his 14th World Record which he first celebrated with the camaraderie of other vaulters.^[2][3]

Before the competition records were as follows:^[4]

The standard to qualify automatically for entry was 5.82 m.^[5]

The event schedule, in local time (UTC+9), was as follows:^[1]

All athletes over 5.80 m ( Q ) or at least the 12 best performers ( q ) advanced to the final.