Centimetre by centimetre - how Duplantis became a world star

“He should beryllium connected Broadway.”

 Todd Lane - way and section coach astatine Louisiana State University

“His execution is poesy successful motion.”

Kate Rooney - British Olympic rod vaulter

“If he has thing connected his mind, he's going to do it.”

Johanna Duplantis - Mondo's younger sister

“We’ve ne'er seen thing for illustration it.”

Scott Simpson - coach of British rod vaulter Molly Caudery

Reaching caller heights

For 3 decades, nan men’s rod vault was dominated by 2 names.

In 1984, Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka group a world grounds of 5.85m. It was nan first of 17 times he would group a caller world mark.

Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie ended his power successful 2014, taking nan grounds to 6.16m.

But location was a caller kid connected nan blocks - or, should we say, nan runway.

The Duplantis era

In February 2020, a 20-year-old Armand Duplantis - ‘Mondo’ arsenic he’s much commonly known - collapsed Lavillenie’s grounds by 1 centimetre.

The caller people was 6.17m. But not for long. 

Less than a week later, Duplantis went complete 6.18m. For nan 5 years since, nan Swede has continued to nudge up nan barroom successful one-centimetre increments.

On average, he breaks nan world grounds 3 times per almanac year.

A clearance of 6.29m astatine nan Hungarian Grand Prix successful August 2025 meant he collapsed nan grounds for nan 13th time. 

The closest anyone has travel to challenging Duplantis this play was erstwhile Emmanouil Karalis cleared 6.08m successful August 2025.

So Duplantis is much than 20 centimetres up of nan remainder - and will fancy himself to group a caller world grounds of 6.30m astatine nan World Athletics Championships successful Tokyo.

Early foundations

“He’s astir apt vaulted much hours than anybody other successful nan world.”

Todd Lane is simply a way and section coach astatine Louisiana State University (LSU), wherever Duplantis spent a twelvemonth earlier leaving to move professional. 

Lane sewage to cognize Duplantis erstwhile he coached his relative Andreas, who was besides a rod vaulter for LSU.

“One of nan things that makes Mondo truthful bully is that he’s a coach of himself,” he says. “Mondo ever had penetration into Andreas’ vaulting.

“He understands nan arena very, very well.”

It helped having a pole-vault pit successful nan backmost gait of their location successful Louisiana, wherever Duplantis grew up alongside his 2 brothers and younger sister Johanna, who is besides a master rod vaulter. 

“My brothers and I would jump successful nan backmost gait - it was our playground,” says Johanna.

“Our dada introduced america to nan rod vault. We conscionable fell successful emotion pinch it - a benignant of domino effect.”

Greg Duplantis is simply a erstwhile elite rod vaulter. He and woman Helena - a Swedish erstwhile heptathlete and volleyball subordinate - coach their son, who competes for Sweden.

“One representation is conscionable jumping successful nan backmost gait aft schoolhouse and Mondo would coach me,” says Johanna.

“There’s this video of him coaching me, and he was conscionable like: ‘That was terrible!’ I was virtually successful my schoolhouse uniform!

“There’s a batch of memories successful that backmost gait that I will cherish forever.”

Those hours practising successful nan backmost gait soon brought results.

Mondo holds aggregate world age-group records:

The showman

Lane recalls group astatine athletics meets saying: “We’re only present to watch Mondo.”

“All nan moving events were done, and group stayed successful nan stands," he says.

In nan years since, Duplantis' fanbase has grown acold beyond Louisiana.

He has almost 2 cardinal followers crossed TikTok and Instagram, and betwixt breaking world records he has been signaling music. His debut azygous Bop came retired successful February and has had much than 2 cardinal streams connected Spotify.

So is nan Duplantis we spot connected our screens different to nan 1 disconnected camera?

“No,” says Johanna. “He is very assured and humble. What he puts retired location is who he is.”

“He mightiness beryllium humble but he is besides a awesome showman,” says Lane - pointing to Duplantis mounting his ninth world grounds astatine nan Paris Olympics arsenic an example.

“Whether it’s nan Rolling Stones opening up astatine Wembley, aliases whatever, he lived up to nan top capacity you could.

“What he did successful Paris was for illustration he should beryllium connected Broadway doing plays.”

The technique

Johanna says her relative has ever had it “pretty overmuch perfect”.

But what does pole-vault perfection look like?

Helen Bayne is simply a elder activity intelligence astatine nan Western Australian Institute of Sport, and useful pinch immoderate of nan champion vaulters successful nan world to amended their performance.

The images that travel are from erstwhile Duplantis group nan world grounds for nan 12th clip by clearing 6.28m astatine nan Stockholm Diamond League successful June 2025.

The strategist?

The world records successful nan high, triple and agelong jump were each group successful nan 1990s, and stay unbroken.

Pole vault is different. 

The men’s world grounds has been surgery 14 times since 1994 - 13 by Duplantis.

“The men’s agelong jump grounds is outrageously long,” Olympic rod vault bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw told BBC Radio 5 Live. “Mike Powell tin put that jump retired location and was like, ‘I’m ne'er going to break that again’.

“In nan rod vault, you tin conscionable spell 1 centimetre astatine a time.”

Athletes person bonuses of up to $100,000 (£74,000) for breaking world records astatine definite World Athletics meetings.

In addition, it is thought Puma - Duplantis’ sponsor - awards bonuses for breaking world records, though it was unwilling to disclose immoderate contractual details.

“There’s been immoderate competitions wherever Duplantis has jumped 6.10m, and past stopped and not attempted nan world record,” said Bradshaw. “That to maine says nan meet has nary prize for a world grounds so, successful his eyes, why would he break it?”

Duplantis’ strategy of breaking nan world grounds centimetre by centimetre is not new. Since 1985, nan men’s rod vault grounds has been surgery by nary much than two-centimetre increments each time.

“It’s incredibly sensible,” erstwhile British grounds holder Kate Rooney tells BBC Sport.

“If he had jumped 6.35m and past was jumping 6.10m each nan clip and couldn’t break it, you wouldn’t person that attraction.

“He has put rod vault connected nan map. He’s doing bits for athletics successful general.”

The mentality

“Mondo is ace laid-back, very, very talented, and hard-working,” British rod vaulter Molly Caudery tells BBC Sport.

“Combine his axenic velocity and mindset, he is formidable,” adds Caudery’s coach Scott Simpson.

Pole vault is simply a subject that relies connected assurance and courageousness - things Duplantis is not short on.

“Tadej Pogacar successful cycling, Kobe Bryant successful basketball... if you look astatine nan awesome athletes successful nan world, they person a mentality that is unshakeable,” says Lane.

Those astir Duplantis judge his mindset is nary different.

His sister Johanna says: “My 3 brothers were ever competitory increasing up, for illustration astatine each small thing. It helped maine go truthful competitory watching them. 

“If he has thing connected his mind, he is going to do it. His intelligence spot is 1 of a kind.”

“There person been a fewer attempts to exemplary this from a physics constituent of view," says Bayne. "A mates of those person pointed to a 6.50m mark. 

“But location are besides arguments that propose this could beryllium flawed, arsenic mathematical calculations don’t ever return into relationship nan remainder of nan assemblage parts that person to contort complete nan bar.”

Ultimately, nan chartless of really acold quality limits tin agelong is what keeps america hooked.

“I ever said that I don’t deliberation 6.40m is possible,” says Bradshaw. "But he defies nan likelihood truthful I don’t deliberation we tin put a headdress connected it.”

What does Duplantis think?

When asked whether location is simply a limit to really acold nan barroom tin go, he told nan BBC’s More Than Score podcast: “The adjacent immense obstruction would beryllium 6.40m, truthful I deliberation that each those are very imaginable and hopefully I’ll support pushing past that.

“I don’t spot nan extremity immoderate clip soon, truthful I conjecture successful that measurement I consciousness for illustration it’s a spot limitless.”

Credits

Written by Emma Middleton
Sub-edited by Reece Killworth
Graphics by Andy Dicks
Images by Getty Images