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LE MANS: Former Formula One driver Robert Kubica has long since tackled the demons of a near-fatal accident 14 years ago but Sunday’s victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is arguably his greatest achievement yet.

The 40-year-old Pole roared to victory in his bright yellow “privateer” Ferrari to give the Italian marque a third consecutive win in the most famous endurance race in the world.

In a thrilling 93rd edition of the race, which saw the top four separated by just over 20 seconds going into the final 15 minutes, Kubica and his AF Corse co-drivers Philip Hanson and Ye Yifei (#83) finished just 14.084sec ahead of a Porsche (#6) driven by Kevin Estre, Matt Campbell and Laurens Vanthoor.

In so doing they knocked the two factory Ferraris, who started the race as favorites, into third and fourth.

“It’s been a long 24 hours but an enjoyable one. Grazie mille, grazie a tutti,” said Kubica over the team radio as he took the chequered flag.

Kubica was one of Formula One’s brightest prospects when he won the 2008 Canada Grand Prix but a harrowing accident in a rally in Andorra in 2011 almost cost him his life.

Trapped upside down in his car before being freed and whisked to hospital, Kubica suffered several serious injuries and underwent a partial amputation of his right forearm.

“What happened was very unfortunate, but I was very lucky,” he said after Sunday’s victory.

“It took me quite a few years, not only to recover physically but also mentally.

“What happened happened and I have to accept it. One of the worst periods of my life was when my mind wouldn’t accept the fact that my arm was failing.”

He returned to racing cars, however, winning the WRC2 championship and taking part in sports car races. In 2017 he moved back into Formula One, testing for Renault before racing for Williams in 2019.

But Sunday’s win which made him the first Pole ever to win Le Mans tops any of his other achievements behind the wheel.

“It was quite difficult to live with, but I’m happy to have achieved my personal goals,” he said.

“The best thing I’ve achieved in my life — it’s nothing to do with racing — it’s more the battle I won with my mind.”

Both of Kubica’s co-drivers were also first-time winners with Ye the first Chinese driver to triumph.

“I’m at a loss for words,” said Ye who arrived in Le Mans at the age of 14 on an exchange program to try and become a professional driver.

“It’s going to take me some time to realize everything that’s happened today. Right now I feel like I’m dreaming. Maybe in two seconds I’ll wake up and none of this will exist.

“In China, the car industry has come a long way. When my father was my age, there were no cars on the roads, and we’re talking about the 1990s. Becoming a professional driver was impossible.”

With three of the top four, it was certainly a good day for Ferrari but there will undoubtedly be some at headquarters in Maranello who might not be so happy.

As the winning car was not entered directly by the manufacturer, but by the AF Corse team, Ferrari will not take the points for victory in the World Endurance Championship.

Cadillac locked out the front row of the grid but #12 of Will Stephens, who had taken pole, had to settle for fifth with the second car (#38), featuring former Formula One world champion Jensen Button, coming home in eighth.

STOCKHOLM: Swedish double Olympic pole vault champion Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis increased his own world record again on Sunday, clearing 6.28 meters to the delight of the home crowd at the Stockholm Diamond League meet.

With victory in the event already guaranteed, Duplantis broke the world record for the 12th time as he sailed over the bar at the first attempt to improve on his 6.27m effort at Clermont-Ferrand in February.

The 25-year-old ripped off his shirt in celebration and raced down the track in front of jubilant spectators at the Olympic stadium built for the 1912 Games.

“It’s a magical feeling, it’s hard to explain,” said Duplantis, who had not before broken the record in Sweden.

“I wanted this so bad. I wanted to do this in front of everybody here in Stockholm.

“It felt like really something special in the crowd today and I knew that everybody really wanted to see it too.

“It’ll be one of the greatest memories for me, I think, in my career.”

Duplantis notched up his 37th victory in 41 Diamond League outings, finishing well ahead of Australia’s Kurtis Marschall who managed a best of 5.90m.

The US-born Duplantis was in a class of his own in another punishing display of vaulting of the highest order, three days after a stellar display in Oslo.

“I kept saying it was the only thing I was missing in the accolades, to break a record in Sweden,” he said.

“I’ve checked off pretty much everything now.”

Duplantis is the heavy favorite for a third successive world championship gold in Tokyo later this year. He is also a three-time indoor world champion.

He first broke the world record in 2020 when he surpassed the 6.16m mark set by Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie.

Duplantis intends to push the bar even higher after his Stockholm exploits.

“I’m going to jump higher. There’s not much between me and 6.30, technically. It’s just a few centimeters. I’m just a perfect day away from it,” he said.

Hometown runner Andreas Almgren fed off the raucous atmosphere to set a new European record of 12min 44.27sec to win the men’s 5,000m.

Olympic champion Rai Benjamin edged out Alison dos Santos to win the men’s 400m hurdles, with Karsten Warlhom a distant third.

Warholm triumphed in the rarely-run 300km hurdles on his home track in Oslo on Thursday, but Benjamin produced a world-leading time of 46.54sec over 400m.

“I think on Thursday I got a little too excited but I felt good today even though I was tired,” said Benjamin.

Julien Alfred won the women’s 100m in 10.75sec, the second fastest time of the year. It was only the Olympic gold medalist’s second race of the season following her victory in Oslo.

Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith took second (10.93) ahead of Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith (11.00).

Two-time Olympic bronze medallist Femke Bol won the women’s 400m hurdles in a season’s best time of 52.11sec. She finished ahead of American Dalilah Muhammad (52.91) and Panama’s Gianna Woodruff (53.99).

“I am not in my best shape yet so to take the victory is especially good,” said Bol.

“A race is never the same as training and it is only my third race of the season... but I am starting to feel the hurdles better every race and getting into race shape.

“It is such a high level at the moment in the hurdles so I am very excited going forward toward the world championships.”