Duplantis, widely known by his nickname ‘Mondo’, has already won every major gold within his reach and became the first man in 68 years to retain the Olympic pole vault title at Paris 2024.
The American-born Swede, who chose to represent his mother’s homeland, has not lost a major final since the World Athletics Championships in Doha in 2019, where as a teenager he lost to American Sam Kendricks on countback.
Talk of world records has largely replaced any discussion about the fate of the men’s pole vault gold medals since the record was taken from Lavillenie in February 2020.
How did he do it? A powerful combination of lightning speed on the runway, technical precision on takeoff, explosive power and the courage to embrace it while traveling far beyond the average height of a giraffe (5.5 m).
It is his sprint prowess in particular that his rivals point to as a defining factor, as greater approach speed generates greater kinetic energy and creates the basis for greater heights.
This is something he has improved upon by developing specially designed sprint spikes that he uses for his world record attempts, which feature an unusual hook-shaped spike in the forefoot.
His inch-by-inch incremental approach to improving the world record is by no means revolutionary; Since Sergey Bubka became the first person to clear six meters 40 years ago, the record has not risen by more than two centimeters each time.
It helped that Duplantis grew up with a pole vault pit in the backyard of his childhood home in Louisiana, and that his father was a former elite competitor in the discipline.
His record-breaking dominance has transcended the sport and established Duplantis, coached by his parents Greg and Helena, as the sport’s biggest star.