A charming Swede who breaks records as easily as drinking water

His victory in the Clermont tournament was already secured with a 6.02-meter jump, yet he went on to clear 6.27 meters on his next attempt, breaking the world record. After the jump, he described the feeling of breaking a world record as “an exhilarating sensation” that’s difficult to put into words.

Duplantis, famously known as “Mondo,” first broke the pole vault world record in February 2020 with a jump of 6.17 meters. Since then, he has set the record eleven times, improving it by just one centimeter each time. Before the Clermont-Ferrand competition, he told the French news agency that his goal was at least 6.30 meters: “I feel like I can do it. Of course, a lot of things have to come together. But I think it’s possible.” He wasn’t surprised by his success in breaking the record again at Clermont-Ferrand: “What can I say? I came here to do it! I gave it my all. My run-up worked well. That’s how I managed it so easily.”

March 3, 2025 | 4:34 am