Munich. The biggest stars of athletics have left EC Munich in style.
Mondo Duplantis boarded a private jet to Crans-Montana, Switzerland and celebrated his gold medal by playing ProAm golf with Italian pro Guido Migliozzo.
– I was more nervous than I was before the EC final, says Mundo.
Mondo, his girlfriend Desiree Englander and Father Greg were flown straight from Munich to the Swiss Alpine paradise in a private plane provided by one of his sponsors.
On Thursday, the Omega European Masters kick off one of the most scenic courses in the world, and on Monday, Mondo had to do something he had long dreamed of.
Play ProAm golf against one of the event’s pros, 25-year-old Italian Guido Migliozzo, who has won a European Tour twice in his career and played Olympic golf for Italy.
There he ended up 10 strokes behind winner from USA Xander Shoffeli.
Now he had to face another Olympic champion.
But Mundo was much more nervous than the one entering the EC final in Munich.
– Yes, when they call the name and you have to hit the ball there on the first tee, you won’t get a second or third chance like in a pole vault. That’s what makes me so nervous, he told the regulator’s website.
Mundo began playing golf during the pandemic year of 2020 when training facilities closed at their winter home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The only thing open was the golf courses.
One round was enough – then he became hooked.
Today, pole vaulting is his profession, but golf is his great passion.
He lowered his handicap almost as quickly as he raised the level.
At the same time, golf has become a haven away from the usual hectic life he leads.
– Yes, only the next stroke matters. He says I don’t have to think about everything else.
Mondo actually gained a faster swing than many pros on the PGA Tour.
His swing speed was measured at just over 196 kilometers per hour, while the average in the PGA is 184.
This means that it can reach almost 300 meters on the tracks.
– I think it’s because I played baseball a lot when I was younger. He says it’s almost the same movement.
It’s a close game and its setting that separates it from the pros.
But with a stick in his hands, no one could hit him.
The next Mondo race is in Lausanne, Switzerland on Thursday.