No place for hubris in sport: Mondo Duplantis

MUMBAI: Fresh from breaking the world record for the 15th time, pole vault superstar Mondo Duplantis is excited about returning to the scene where his extraordinary sequence began. Torun, a city in north-central Poland, will host the world indoors from March 20-22. It’s also where Duplantis etched his name in the record books for the first time in Feb 2020, representing a full-circle moment for an exceptionally gifted athlete who has absolutely dominated his sport in these six years.

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“Torun is a very special place for me since I broke my first world record there,” the two-time reigning Olympic champion told reporters during a call on Sunday. “I’ve been fortunate enough to break a few since then, but the first one’s always a very life-changing moment.

“You go from, in one instance, being not the world record holder, to the world record holder, which is one of my biggest childhood dreams. “I’m just really excited for it, honestly, especially after what I was able to do just now in Uppsala, which was, of course, really good.”

If you missed out on Duplantis's latest feat, the 26-year-old cleared the bar at 6.31m at his home meet, the Mondo Classic, last Thursday. It saw him extend his iron-clad grip on the world record he’s held since eclipsing Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie’s previous mark with a jump of 6.17m six years ago.

The three-time indoor and outdoor world champion explained how tweaking his run-up by a couple of steps had played a key role in helping him control a stiffer pole while going for the 6.31m vault. “There was this one stiffer pole that I’d never been able to really just get to work,” he said. “I just couldn't really make it work at the weight that I like to jump at. And so I was able to make it work this past weekend.

“I did a little bit of a change with my approach and my run-up. I usually run from a 20-step approach and I moved it to a 22 step approach, which doesn’t sound like that much of a difference, but it’s actually quite different.

“I don’t have speed data, but I think that I was clearly able to add some type of extra energy into the take-off because I was able to use that stiffer pole that I haven’t been able to use for like four years.”

For someone who has won 38 straight competitions, with defeat last coming in Aug 2023, Duplantis was asked if he fears that his incredible streak would come to an end. “I never really had that problem,” said the Swede. “I think you can never have too much of a hubris and be over-confident when it comes to sports, and you can just never underestimate your opponents but also the sport itself.

“I know that whenever I do the things that I know that I can do, and I focus and I jump the way that I know that I can jump, then I do feel like I’m the best one every time I step out onto the track.”

But in “such a difficult sport”, Duplantis stressed, “there’s no slacking off ”. “Especially at this level, it’s like I just always have to bring my A game. I never feel like it’s just given to me,” he said.

As to how further, or higher, he could still go, Duplantis said the thrill for him simply lay in “the journey” and “pushing the envelope” as long as he was competing.

“I just expect a certain level out of whatever I think is possible on the day, so I’ll just keep pushing it, and as far as I can take it, then that’ll be what it’ll be,” he said.


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