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Armand Mondo Duplantis has long been considered the one to watch in the men's pole vault. But few, even among the most ardent track and field fans, would have anticipated his ascent to culminate in him smashing the world record so swiftly and so often.
A Tokyo Olympics gold medalist, Duplantis has only won one gold medal in his just-started career. However, it is very clear that he is going to be one of the greats in the game!
How did Mondo Duplantis win the gold medal in Tokyo Olympics?
Sam Kendricks, Thiago Braz da Silva, and Renaud Lavillenie all returned to Tokyo from the 2016 podium. After landing in Tokyo, Kendricks tested positive for COVID-19 and was disqualified from the competition. But a young prodigy named Mondo Duplantis, a 21-year-old vaulter who has been establishing age group world records from the age of 7, has replaced the old guard.
He took home silver from the World Championships in 2019. He surpassed Lavillenie's world record of 2020.
11 of the 14 finalists surpassed 5.75 meters in qualifying, but it needed a clean round of 5.65 meters to advance to the final. Lavillenie failed at the subsequent heights after passing the first 5.80 meters with seven jumpers.
Mondo Duplantis passed at 5.87 meters, and only Braz and Chris Nilsen made it through. In just his third jump of the competition, Duplantis cleared a distance of 5.92 meters.
Nilsen was successful in his second effort. Braz was unable to, which gave him the bronze. Nilsen followed Duplantis' 5.97-meter clearance with a personal-best effort. Duplantis cleared once again at 6.02 meters, remaining flawless.
Nilsen tried three times to enter the 6-meter club but was unsuccessful. Duplantis was now able select his next height attempt as the winner. Instead of aiming to break Braz's Olympic Mark of 6.03 meters, he requested a potential new world record mark of 6.19 meters.
His hips and body were up approximately 6.50m during his first effort, but he came back and brushed the bar on the way down. His second attempt, which was abandoned, was nearly successful. Though he couldn't achieve the world record, the triumph must have been the greatest moment of his career.
Who is Mondo Duplantis?
Armand Gustav 'Mondo' Duplantis was born in the United States on November 10, 1999. He holds the world outdoor and indoor records with heights of 6.21 meters and 6.20 meters, respectively.
He is also the reigning Olympic, world, and Diamond League champion. At the 2019 World Athletics Championships, he earned the silver medal. Between 2018 and 2022, when he established the current world under-20 record, Duplantis won the European championship twice. He won gold medals at the 2021 European Indoor Championship and the 2022 World Indoor Championship indoors.
What's next for Mondo Duplantis?
Mondo Duplantis has a long career in vaulting ahead of him because he is only 21.
A major issue for someone who twice in two weeks earlier last year surpassed Renaud Lavillenie's previous world record of 6.16 is how high he can go.
In Tokyo, he tried three vaults at 6.19m, which would have broken the current record. He missed the bar on both his first and third attempts but managed to clear it both times. Greg, his father and coach, thinks there is still a lot more to come.
