The Swedish pole vault superstar talks about the importance of these types of events and why they can be “sprinkled once in a while”.
It’s been more than a week since Mondo Duplantis took on Karsten Warholm in the 100m of the Zurich Diamond League (September 4).
Organizers Puma, Red Bull and Weltklasse Zurich said it was “100 meters to decide everything” between the pole vault and 400m hurdles world record holders.
Just before the pair competed, Duplantis and Warholm entered the Letzigrund Stadium in boxing-style walks and cloaked robes to hip music.
Around 2,600 spectators filled the grandstand on the home straight and this combined with the clever use of lighting, smoke and post-race fireworks made for a truly spectacular event.
In the end, Duplantis took the bragging rights and went from 10.37 to Warholm’s 10.47.
Now, ahead of the Diamond League finals in Brussels, where Duplantis will return to his regular pole vault, he reflects on that 100m in Zurich and the wider impact it had on the sport.
(Getty)
“It was an amazing feeling, but in a completely different way,” Duplantis said. “It was more pride and ego for both of us and it made it a lot of fun. It was a really nice feeling.
“I feel good now, but I was a bit beat up at the time. Honestly, it’s a different kind of strain on your body. I think I do a good sprint training, but I think there’s a big difference between that and going 100% in competition. I haven’t had a 100m like this since high school.
“Being inside the whole thing, I thought it was pretty cool, fun and a bit fresh. If it was a 1v1 with Noah (Lyles) and Letsile (Tebogo) over 200m, I’d look at an example. I think the concept is kind of fun and can be splashy at times.”
Asked if he had other challenges in mind, the 24-year-old added: That 100m took a lot out of me. But if I had to do one, it would be the 400m. I’ve never run the way the 150m went, but it’s probably going to be pretty tough.”
Femke Ball (River)
At the press conference, which was also attended by Femke Ball and Lecile Tebogo, questions were asked about their dream exhibition races.
World 400m hurdles champion Femke Ball said she watched the Duplantis-Warholm match and called it “amazing viewing”.
“I think a lot of people were super excited about it,” Ball said. “Both Mondo and Karsten were great people to do this. I don’t think you can do that every day, but it was a lot of fun.
Ball said he would “like to run Keeley (Hodgkinson) over 600m” and added “we’re good mates but it’s a little bit away so I’ll have to think about it”.
The prospect of Ball and Hodgkinson in the top 600m will be both exciting and intriguing. The pair currently hold the world best indoor 500m and 600m times, with Ball clocking 1:05.63 over 500m and Hodgkinson clocking 1:23.41 over 600m.
With his 400m speed, Ball will undoubtedly be faster out of the blocks, but Hodgkinson is the Olympic 800m champion for a reason and will close incredibly well.
Kelly Hodgkinson (Getty)
For Tebogo, the prospect of a final 300m race against Fred Curley, Jarnell Hughes and Matt Hudson-Smith could be too good to turn down.
The Olympic 200m champion is also the fastest man ever over the 300m after his 30.69 in South Africa earlier this year, beating the likes of Wayde van Niekerk, Michael Johnson and Usain Bolt in the process.
With Curley calling for a 300m race on Twitter, Tebogo is now keen to get in on the action and believes everyone can go under his world best.
“They just have to put the date on it,” Tebogo said. “It will be USA against Great Britain and then I am the only African in the field. It’s going to be great.
Letsile Tebogo – The best of Letsile Tebogo
“There is a lot of competition between our athletes. Personally, I think if someone is challenging, World Athletics should be involved instead of every meet. It will be interesting to see something like this once a year.”
Such exhibitions will have to wait until next season, with Ball and Tebogo’s immediate focus on the 400m hurdles and 200m respectively in Brussels.
Ball is on a 23-race Diamond League unbeaten run in the 400m hurdles, while Tebogo has a potential eye on Johan Blake’s meet record of 19.26 half laps.
» Subscribe to AW Magazine herecheck out our new podcast! here or subscribe to our digital archive of back issues from 1945 to the present day here
The post Mondo Duplantis on the impact of his 100m with Carsten Warholm appeared first AW:.
