In relaxed mode at the post-awards press conference
TRACK & FIELD
“ Going into the year , not only was it very important for me to try to get some really high bars in there and try to break the World Record a few more times , but we also had the World Indoor Championships and the outdoor World Championships , and they were the two titles that I was missing ,” says Duplantis .
Images : PhilippeFitte / World Athletics & courtesy PUMA , World Athletics
While being named World Athlete of the Year isn ’ t new to Duplantis – the 23-year-old also claimed the honour in 2020 , and won the Rising Star award in 2018 – you get the sense that he doesn ’ t take the recognition for granted . It ’ s much like his attitude when it comes to his success in competition . Take Oregon as an example : Despite already having four World Records , an Olympic title , a World Indoor gold and numerous other major medals to his name , he remained acutely aware that there were no guarantees . If he wanted his first outdoor World Title , he was going to have to earn it .
Staying Grounded
After improving the World Record to 6.19m , and 6.20m indoors – the latter height achieved at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade – and given his great consistency in the lead-up , Duplantis went into the World Athletics Championships in Eugene as one of the biggest favourites in any event . However , it was his memories from watching past editions of the global showpiece that helped to keep him on track .
A big fan of French vaulter Renaud Lavillenie , Duplantis remembered following the action in 2013 and 2015 , as well as in person in 2017 when he made his senior international debut , as the former World Record-holder targeted an elusive outdoor World Title . “ I was always rooting for Renaud to try to complete his set of major gold medals ,” says Duplantis of Lavillenie , who claimed five World Outdoor medals to go with his 2012 Olympic title , 2016 Olympic silver and three World Indoor titles .
“ I always thought that he was capable of it , and he really deserved it , but that ’ s just how sport is sometimes . So that was in the back of my mind going into Oregon , because I know that just because you ’ re the favourite , and just because you ’ re the one that has jumped the highest this year , or yesterday , it doesn ’ t really matter , it only matters what happens today . Anything can happen in sport , that ’ s why it ’ s such a beautiful thing , and watching those past World Championships made me stay focused for the competition in Oregon .”
Receiving his World Athlete of the Year Award from World Athletics President Lord Sebastian Coe
Streak of Success
After achieving numerous World Age Bests , Duplantis set the first of his World Records in Torun in February 2020 , when he cleared 6.17m to improve on Lavillenie ’ s previous World Record of 6.16m , which had stood since 2014 . ( Lavillenie himself won World Athlete of the Year eight years ago , thanks in part to that record-setting performance .) Duplantis then took the world record to 6.18m in Glasgow just a week after his triumph in Torun .
At the end of that year , he won World Athlete of the Year for the first time and received his trophy remotely , due to the COVID pandemic . This time , being presented with his award in person during a celebration at the Prince ’ s Palace of Monaco , made it extra special . “ You don ’ t really do it for the prizes , you do it because you love what you do so much , but this is quite nice ,” he says . “ To be able to receive the Athlete of the Year Award here , in the Palace in Monaco , and get the award from Prince Albert , is very special . It ’ s one of those moments where you have to pinch yourself .”
There have actually been quite a few of those ‘ pinch me ’ moments this year . Duplantis started 2022 with a 6.02m clearance in Karlsruhe and improved with every indoor competition after that . During an unbeaten season , he crowned the lot with his 6.20m clearance in Belgrade . He opened his outdoor season with a 6.02m win in Doha , followed by a series of victories in the lead-up to Oregon that culminated with a 6.16m clearance – at the time the highest ever outdoor vault – on home soil in Stockholm .
Then came the World Championships . On the final day of competition , Duplantis already had the gold medal secured when he cleared 6.00m , and he then broke the Championship Record by soaring over 6.06m , but still he wasn ’ t done . He aborted his first attempt at the
World Record height of 6.21m and sat chatting with Lavillenie as he waited for his second go . As the end of the Championships neared , with all the other action having concluded , he achieved a fitting finale . “ You picture the moment when you ’ re a kid ,” he smiles . “ You ’ re on the biggest stage , which would be a World Championships , you ’ re going for the World Record , and you end up breaking it and doing something that nobody has ever done . It ’ s one of these moments where it ’ s really a dream come true situation .”
Motivated to Fly
Duplantis says that he intends to create even more of those moments in the coming years . As a result of the pandemic , athletes have five consecutive years of global outdoor senior competition – from the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 , though to the World Championships in the same city in 2025 , and Duplantis plans to capitalise , with the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 his next big aim .
“ I guess if there would be a time that I would want everything to be jam-packed and really intense , it would be right now ,” he says . “ I am young , and I am jumping really well , so why would I not want all the championships to come right now ? I feel like this is my best chance to win them all .”
Despite his brilliance in 2022 , Duplantis wasn ’ t unbeaten , and that adds to the thrill of the event . As he says , nothing is guaranteed , and there have been some exciting clashes in the event again this year . Ultimately , though , Duplantis ’ biggest challenger is himself . And that ’ s an exciting prospect for the future . “ From the beginning , when I started pole vaulting , I was never really competing against anybody other than myself . I set goals based on what I think I am capable of ,” he says . “ I ’ m grateful for what I ’ ve done , and it has been a really great few years for me , but I still feel that hunger , and I still feel like I can jump higher .”
Mondo ’ s New Mark
Having already won the gold medal in the men ’ s pole vault at the 2022 World Championships in the USA , Sweden ’ s Mondo Duplantis decided to go after the Championship Record , then for good measure , attempted to better his own World Record , and with a majestic leap of 6.21m , he rewrote the history books yet again .
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