It’s been another impressive year for Mondo Duplantis, a man who seems to bend the pole vault to his will. Matt Majendi presents the main track and field star.
The clock had already struck 11pm Tokyo time, after the rest of the night’s events had wrapped up at the National Stadium. And still about 55,000 people stayed behind, all eyes on the man in the yellow vest. Twice Mondo Duplantis had broken the mark, and he had one last chance to become the first man to clear 6.30m, a height that seemed unthinkable earlier in his career.
It was only fitting that the man he idolized as an understated athlete, Renaud Lavillene, should be closest to him, standing just a few meters behind and clapping along with the boisterous crowd to get them into the rhythm of the runway. At this point, Duplantis already had a laser focus on what lay ahead.
The 26-year-old says he has to be perfect to go inch by inch with every record he holds. He shook the rod as he cleaned it and looked down nervously, but it stayed put. A remarkable record has been registered.
Duplantis says celebrations are never premeditated, each one is a little different. On this occasion, he jumped off the mat and fell into the arms of silver medalist Emmanuel “Manolo” Karalis before blowing a kiss to his fiancée, Desiree Englander, in the stands.
Tokyo was in awe of a man who eclipsed the world record 14 times and surpassed it 4 times in 2025 alone. It seems like a lifetime ago that he suffered his last major championship loss six years ago in Doha. It was his 36th consecutive victory in the competition and his 16th this year alone.
Tellingly, his rivals are celebrating almost as wildly as the man himself. Australia’s Curtis Marshall, who took home the bronze, said: “It was a great night, the fans were fantastic. Mondo is from another planet. he does incredible things, things that many thought were impossible. I can’t wait to see what he’s got in the future.” That’s as much a testament to his likability as his actual ability.
Duplantis previously celebrated glory at the same venue in Tokyo at the 2021 Olympics, but on that occasion it was devoid of fans in the time of Covid. He had enjoyed his return, being able to capture the sights and sounds of Japan’s capital and, in particular, the cuisine on offer. He had imagined what the moment would be like inside the stadium… it exceeded all expectations.
“I always wanted to go back to Tokyo because I knew it was a great city,” he said. “This is better than I ever imagined. I’m at a loss for words. This was the biggest dream come true for me. I am very happy. Guys, guys, this world record is awesome! I’ve really enjoyed being in Tokyo for the past two weeks. I feel like the only way to leave Japan was to set a world record. That was my mindset. I felt great all day. I knew I was doing well all day. you, thank you.”
The year began with a first world record of 6.27m in the All Star Perche in Clermont-Ferrand, France in February, set by Lavillenie. A second world record followed in June in his mother’s birthplace of Sweden, with another in Budapest a month before the world championships.
Still only in his mid-20s and with a long way to go, it begs the question of what might be possible after winning every available title and becoming the first man in 68 years to defend an Olympic pole vault title. The chase is the next long-term mathematical target of 6.40m.
Duplantis has previously spoken of fearing that the fire inside him might one day be extinguished, and yet the animated manner in which he clipped his Tokyo gold in a late-night press conference in the bowels of the stadium suggested that was a long way off.
He once told me that when he competes, he knows that only the world record is enough for the spectators. Everyone expects him to win, including Duplantis, and also to break his most recent mark, as it has become commonplace. He says it took time to get over that feeling that “nothing is ever good enough.”
Athletics is lucky to have him because there was Usain Bolt before him. He is dismissive of the Bolt comparisons. “I can only be what I can be,” he once said. “I can’t be Usain Bolt, we’re different people and we do different events, so it’s hard to compare us. But what I want to be is the best pole vaulter that ever lived.”
That has long been guaranteed and, like Bolt, Duplantis is the ultimate showman. He never thought it was until Covid happened and he was sent to compete in his parents’ old backyard in Lafayette, Louisiana, six paces up from the 20 degrees he was used to.
It was there that he first used poles so thin he could bend them as a light seven-year-old, and he dreamed of being Lavillene while dodging the red brick wall that stood to the left of the landing mat. And it was there, in the time of Covid, that he realized how much he fed and missed the roar of the crowd.
It is his priority. he hasn’t lost since June 2023, a feat matched by few of the all-time greats. He has echoes of Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan or Michael Phelps in his magnificence.
It was only fitting that another sporting great, Kelly Slater, an 11-time world surfing champion, was one of the first to respond when Duplantis posted a slow-motion video of her 6.30m break on Instagram. Slater simply wrote: “Wow! It’s wild. Slo-mo tells a story. Nice job.”
Duplantis may not receive the recognition of superstars in other sports. Is it athletics’ fault or does the pole vault lack the same universal awe and appeal as the 100m? But his status in his own sport is clear. After all, it was he who started alongside Bolt in the final world championships scheduled for 2026 in Tokyo.
The American-born Swede may not have achieved the fame or fortune of the likes of Woods or Jordan, and yet his bank balance is beginning to feel the positive effects. His World Championship gold combined with the world record earned him $170,000 in Tokyo and a bonus from sponsor Puma, not bad for a night’s work.
And he’s obviously popular. She has 1.6 million followers on Instagram and counting. Plus, there’s appeal outside of sports, too. He released his own music. her first single, Bop, reached number 31 on the Swedish music charts after its release, and then the matter of her impending marriage the following year.
What makes him so good as an athlete? In the simplest terms, he is electrically fast on the runway. Last year, he ran the 100 meters in 10.37 minutes in a showdown with Karsten Warholm. Its climb speed of 10.3 m/s is about a meter better than many of its competitors. Unlike his peers, he also places his rod in front of the box, letting it slide into place and simply watching his flight technique and the way he is vertical at the point where the dash straightens. Again, that goes against who he competes against week in and week out.
There is also innovation. Puma supplies him with a shoe called the Caw, which he uses only in record attempts and gives him extra speed. If he wears them regularly, he often gets caught on them and draws blood. As he says, “When they come out, you know it’s work time.”
In the final in Tokyo, wearing “Caw”, he was 30cm clear of his nearest rival. In contrast, 25 cm separated the second to ninth places. Especially with Karulis progressing, that gap is unlikely to be bridged anytime soon. Duplantis’ focus is on Sergey Bubka’s 17 world records, and the motivation seems unwavering. More than five and a half years since his first world record, one wonders how many more will follow and how high he can go.
