“I know I can jump higher” : Mondo Duplantis on setting greater world records
The Olympics is the greatest event for any athlete to showcase their abilities. The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris set new records of viewership, passing over a billion worldwide. And with the world watching, Sweden’s jewel Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis set yet another world record in pole vaulting, soaring at 6.25 meters high in the fully packed Stade de France.
Mondo Duplantis is considered the greatest pole vaulter of all time, despite being only 24 years of age. Rightly so, as the Swedish is the world outdoor and indoor record holder (6.25 metres or 20 feet 6 inches, and 6.22 metres or 20 feet 5 inches, respectively), two-time Olympic (2020 and 2024) champion, two-time World outdoor (2022 and 2023) and indoor champion, and current European champion.
But despite setting new records, making headlines and setting social media ablaze, the 24-year-old is still not satisfied and wants to raise the bar even higher.
“I know I can jump higher, and I want to jump a lot higher, I would like to jump over 6.30m,” said Duplantis (via Olympics.com).
“I visualised this exact situation 1000 times in my head” : Duplantis before his final attempt at the world record
The Swedish is currently at the prime of his career, and there seems to be no holding back for him even after setting world records multiple times. Duplantis’s consistency is one of the key attributes that sets him apart from his other competitors, as the 24-year-old more often than not jumps higher than 6 meters.
The Swedish also has the support from his father Greg Duplantis, as his very own coach. Greg being a highly regarded pole vaulter in his time, has been instrumental for his son’s training and development regime which focuses on maintaining his speed, strength, timing and technical prowess. Duplantis also works with specialized sports psychologists to make sure he remains confident in high pressure situations.
“When I was sitting on the back of the runway, I felt like I’d been there 1000 times because I’ve been visualizing this moment for such a long time. I’ve visualized and dreamt of this moment since I was just a little kid, like looking at the world record height at the Olympic final. For it to actually happen, the way that it did, especially in that stadium with the most amazing crowd that I’ve ever been a part of, it’s kind of hard to beat. And I’m okay with that. I don’t think I really need to beat it because it’s probably not really beatable,” said the two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Very rarely it has been seen in sports that an athlete has dominated in such a way that there is no clear competition for him, because at this point, Mondo Duplantis is having a competition with himself. It would be to nobody’s surprise if the Swedish eventually breaks his own record yet again, as Duplantis continues to grow his legacy and is now on the verge of the 6.30 meters mark.
