Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce wants to face Mondo Duplantis in a 100m duel.
– I would have beaten you, Mundo answered the question before the Brussels Diamond League.
– We bet on the fastest woman in the world.
Yes, there was a strange ending to the press conference ahead of the Brussels Diamond League kick-off on Thursday afternoon.
Superstar Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce took the microphone and began asking Mondo Duplantis surprised questions.
– How fast do you run 100 metres, asked the Jamaican.
He added:
– Against me.
– I’ll hit you. Mondo replied: I did a few races when I was in high school.
– But that was several years ago, Fraser Price tackled.
– Yes, but I’m faster today.
In the end, he was challenged to a duel.
“Shall we bet,” said Fraser Price, clenching his fist.
– Absolutely. We’ll meet next year, it’s just you and me, said Mundo, extending his hand.
Belgian Kim Gevert, who chaired the press conference, said:
– Yes, we have to arrange a duel in next year’s competition.
How it will turn out remains to be seen.
Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce developed a special relationship with Mondo during all of their encounters on the world athletics stages.
– She loves it, says Danielle Weisfeldt, Mondo’s director.
– And it is not entirely impossible that they will meet here next year.
Mundo has only one official time recorded in the 100 metres.
It’s 10.73 from the 2018 event in New Iberia, Louisiana.
He also achieved 10.57 in a very large tailwind (+2.1 vs. 2.0 allowed) later that year.
Want to avoid regulator failure
Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce tops the list of the best in the world this year with a time of 10.62 and has a personal record of 10.60.
On paper, it would be an even race, but Mondo is much faster today than he was four years ago and most people would guess he could run towards 10.30.
But of course it will tickle with a duel between the two.
Other than that, Mundo’s questions were much about the controversy at last year’s gala, when organizers took more than half an hour to raise the bar to the then-current world record of 6.19.
At that time both Mundo and the regulators failed.
They don’t plan to do that on Friday night.
– No, we checked twice and tripled and the ranking was up to 6.25, says Kim Gevert
If Mundo is in good shape to set the world record?
– Yes, I still feel good, he says.
– I want to try to make something good out of the two contests I left.
