PARIS – It is the morning after a night to remember, and Armand “Mondo” Duplantis is looking a little worse for wear as he strides into the Omega House at the Hotel de Poulpry. There is no doubt, however, that the man is walking on clouds after claiming back-to-back gold in the pole vault and setting a new world record on Aug 5. Just hours ago, he held court at the Stade de France as a crowd of 80,000 roared him into the history books on his third and final record-breaking attempt at 6.
25m, which he celebrated by sprinting to the stands and hugging his model girlfriend. Nobody would begrudge him some wilder celebrations afterwards, and it is a wonder the Swede is able to arrive early at the Swiss watchmaker’s hospitality venue, although his voice is hoarse as he fields questions from about 20 journalists. “We enjoyed the night,” said the grinning 24-year-old.
“It was like the most ridiculous competition I have ever been part of. The energy was unmatched, it was probably the most insane ground I’ve ever jumped in front of, honestly. “It was like 80,000 people in unison shouting my name and just yelling when I was going on the track.
I was trying to just go through with the emotions and trying to let the adrenaline not take over me. But yeah, that’s kind of the beautiful part of it. “I’m just going to enjoy this, live completely in the present.
” That present was also allowing himself to indulge in “some fried chicken last night and then pizza two hours ago” after months of strict dieting before the competition. The party will certainly continue in the days ahead, though the question on everyone’s lips is: How high can this extraordinary athlete go? He has told French newspaper Le Monde that he can jump 6.3m, while his father – former pole vaulter Greg Duplantis – said in April that 6.
4m is achievable. Others are even more optimistic, with the Swedish Olympic Committee and even gambling firm Svenska Spel – using the help of artificial intelligence – speculating that he could hit 6.51m at age 33.
After breaking the world record for the ninth time, Mondo said: “I guess it’s cool to see what’s possible, to push yourself and to know that there’s a lot more left to do. I think it’s motivational.” Breaking the world record at an Olympic final has been a moment he has “visualised thousands of times” since he first started vaulting as a four-year-old in his parents’ Louisiana backyard.
His mother Helena described him as “feely”, but there is more to it than intuition. There are the many laborious hours put into tens of thousands of failed launches and analysis of details such as which of his seven poles – same length of 5.2m, different stiffness – to pick, depending on how much energy and speed he brings to the take off and factors such as the vault box and weather conditions.
After he represented Sweden for the first time in 2015 – Helena is Swedish while Greg had coached the Swedish national pole vaulters – he started to raise the bar, and the records would continue to fall. In the last five years, Mondo has been unbeatable, winning every major title in the sport – including two world titles and three Diamond League golds – after finishing second to American Sam Kendricks at the 2019 world championships. According to Time magazine, Mondo earns between US$30,000 (S$39,800) and US$100,000 each time he breaks the world record.
But in addition to catapulting himself into superstardom, his feats have helped his under-the-radar discipline make great strides in a sport that celebrates sprinters. He affectionately describes pole vaulting as “a circus” for athletes who are both gymnasts and sprinters, adding: “I don’t think there’s anything that’s more entertaining than pole vaulting. It’s exotic.
.. It’s so special, I have that kind of love with it.
” His love for the sport began in his family’s backyard and after his historic triumph, he plans to vault there again for the first time in about a decade. He told The Straits Times: “I plan to jump there soon and try to jump a little bit higher, that would be cool. But then the neighbour’s brick wall is alongside the pit, so it’s a little bit sketchy.
.. I feel like it doesn’t feel that safe to be jumping six metres.
But once he is done at home, Duplantis will certainly be back to conquer the world again..
