By Mary Mae Balasanos
“Mondo,” an Italian word for “world”, surely suits World No 1 pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis for conquering world records at a young age.
Born in Louisiana, United States in 1999, and now representing Sweden, the Swedish-American athlete currently holds the men’s pole vault world record, with a jump of 6.26 metres.
The best part is how the 5ft 11ins athlete jumps so swiftly, making the competition look easy for him, as he jumps his way through a huge gap among his competitors in his 20s.
Now, Mondo is leaping through heights and breaking his own records – one centimetre at a time.
A family of jumpers
“It takes a village to raise a child,” as the proverbs say.
The pole vaulter grew up in an environment driven with great athletes of their time, with his father, Gregory Duplantis, a former professional American pole vaulter, and his mother, Helena Duplantis, a former heptathlete and volleyball player from Sweden.
The Duplantis siblings of four all hopped on pole vaulting, starting as kids with a pole in their garden.
Johanna is the youngest sister, while their older brother, Andreas, also represented Sweden.
Meanwhile, their other brother, Antoine, quit pole vaulting to become a professional baseball player.
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A young man’s jump
In June 2015, Mondo chose to compete for Sweden. He won the global Under-18 title the same year, just four months before turning 16.
Two years later, he smashed the Under-20 world record, clearing 5.90 metres, and becoming a promising star for Sweden.
The victories continued with a gold medal triumph at the 2018 European Championships. His 6.05-metre clearance at the event made him the fifth-best vaulter of all time.
A year later, he was able to bag a silver, next to the iconic Sam Kendricks of the United States at the 2019 Worlds in Doha.
Journey to the top of the world
Jumping his way through the World No 1 spot in February 2020, Mondo cleared the bar for 6.17 metres at the Orlen Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland.
The same jump beat his idol’s world record – Renaud Lavillenie’s 6.16 metres – which was untouchable for almost six years.
After breaking records, the high-flying Swede earned his first Olympic gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, clearing 6.02 metres.
Mondo then shook the world in his stint at the 2024 Paris Olympics by bagging gold and clearing the bar at 6.25 metres – breaking his own world record of 6.24 metres at the Wanda League in Xiamen, China.
Duplantis being Duplantis, he shortly shattered the golden record 20 days later at the Silesia Diamond League in Poland with 6.26 metres.
On to greater heights
Looking ahead, the Swedish athlete has all the time in the world to keep conquering the league at the age of 25.
Will Mondo reach even higher this year? Or will his competitors eventually catch up?
Either way, it will take a big leap.
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