Less than two months after the last world record, it’s time for Mundo Duplantis to kick off the outdoor season.
But before that, we have to ask for a training video that got the world of pole vaulting breathless.
– I know what you want to ask me about, he says when we extend the phone.
We meet Mondo at a large craft store in Stockholm. Sponsors of this summer’s major Swedish athletics festival will have the patronage and blessing of those who speak to the Swedish superstar without a frustrating back wall. If you’ve got there possibly the world’s hottest athlete between paint, tile, and glulam wood, it should be maxed out.
It’s been less than two months since Duplantes won the World Cup indoor gold and a second world record in Belgrade in two weeks.
– It wasn’t long until I couldn’t get too bad. Everything looks good, I was well trained in the United States, he says when describing the model.
But how well did it really go?
Four weeks ago, Duplantis posted a video of a training jump. The height mark is clearly visible on the side and in the pictures the bar appears to be 20 feet (6.10) and a bit more.
“6.21???”
Duplanti’s only addition to the video was an emoji on the microscope. And maybe people, just like us at Sportbladet, played the clip, took screenshots and asked us: Did he just break a world training record?
“6.21??? “The user writes.
“I think the new unofficial world record is now 6.21Another writes.
“20 feet none‘, writes III.
So how was it? We show the movie, but we don’t even have time to formulate a question.
– I know what you want to ask, do you want to ask if 6.20 jumps? no. I think it might be 5.90.
-But yeah, I jumped 16 steps (four steps shorter than the normal approach, editor’s note) so it was a good workout.
Did you just want to scare the competition with a video?
– I think they know what I can do. You probably don’t have to scare them. But 6.20 can’t happen in training, if I can jump six meters in training, it’s like 6.15 in competition, maybe 6.20. I need the adrenaline and the energy of competition. If I jumped 6.20 in training, I would at least jump 6.30.
‘The World Cup looks like nothing’
The goal of training this year is the World Cup in Eugene. The only title the 22-year-old lacks.
– That’s what I have to do if I want to be better than (Sergey) Bubka.
Before the year came, he dared to spoil his training a little more than he had before the Olympics.
Before 2021, the focus was all on the Olympics and I didn’t want to change anything because I knew that if I jumped as well as I do, I could win the Olympics and that was my only goal. Now it’s about not being sluggish, improving myself, and becoming more aggressive in approach.
He admits that after the Olympics, there is no longer any reason to press.
– World Cup… It feels like nothing. The Olympics were stress, and now you’re feeling calm.
On his “One More Leap” podcast, Duplants last fall drew a story about a pre-Olympic sequence that really showed how much everyone expected him to win. The beverage company that sponsors the glassblowing machine wanted the jars printed with his face on them and the text “Olympic champion.” Duplantis had to agree to something a month before the Olympics began so that production would be ready immediately after the gold.
I didn’t talk to the king
Were you flying from him?
– You can’t think of it. If someone said, “What if this happens…” I won’t listen. Gold was just something that could happen, I was going to win it. Now I’m glad I won because it was so stressful.
After the Olympics, life off the track got a lot busier. Only in the short time since he returned to Stockholm pre-season has he and partner Desiré Inglander had time to attend Elle gala, a joint photo session and royal gala at City Hall with other Olympic athletes.
How do you like Gala and mingle with life?
– Absolutely OK, it’s hard to speak Swedish but I like it and it’s getting better and better. But I got tired at the end of the evening when I spoke “broken” Swedish.
The party that took place at City Hall at last, what were you and the King talking about?
– No, I didn’t talk to the king then.
no? why?
– I don’t know… There were many who wanted to talk to the king so I didn’t want to bother them.
Perhaps His Majesty will have reason to speak to Duplantis later in the year after taking home a World Cup gold or setting a world record. So far, all four of his indoor records have been broken. On Friday, the first outdoor opportunity of the year will come when the Diamond League begins in Doha.
– There are many good competitions to do this in. Here in Stockholm and at the World Cup, there are many competitions in which I would like to break world records, he says.