Finally, Mondo Duplantis has the spotlight. Keely Hodgkinson has won her gold medal. Noah Lyles has his too. Now, all eyes are on a 24-year-old from Sweden via Louisiana. The bar is set at 6.25m high in the still, warm air.
Duplantis already has his gold medal, his second in a row. Few people care about that part. He jumped four times to win. But he didn’t need to do the first two jumps, or the fourth. It’s like the winner of Eurovision playing another song. Except, the winner is The Beatles, and the song is “Octopus’s Garden,” and now they play all of “Sgt. Pepper.”
But when you win your 18th straight meet and hold nine of the ten highest vaults in history, you get judged differently. So, tonight has come down to a duel: Duplantis vs gravity, Duplantis vs physics, Duplantis now vs Duplantis four months ago, when he set his last record of 6.24m. The bar is at 6.25m.
He starts with two failures. It feels silly to nitpick at a double Olympic champion for not breaking the world record. But there is a rare chance here. A chance to make these Games truly historic. Also, to give pole vaulting, a sport that is somewhat strange, a special moment.
Pole Vault Drama Duplantis Soars Above the Rest
Not many people understand pole vaulting. Even fewer can do it well. The bar to entry is high. Duplantis, the son of a pole vaulter, started at age four in his backyard. This certainly helps. But the immense skill, the physical conditioning, the perfect 20 strides at sprint speed, the strength and height of the grip, the gymnast’s flexibility to go over the bar, all while using a pole like a prop from a Laurel and Hardy movie, this is the part people overlook.
Duplantis can be a crossover star. With his floppy hair and haunting eyes, he can give pole vaulting its glory. Like Sergey Bubka before him, Duplantis earns a bonus for each world record. Over 40 years, they have broken the record 25 times, most by a centimetre. But none of these records happened in an Olympics.
As they come out for the warm-up, other vaulters have backpacks. Duplantis has a designer wheelie-suitcase. A newcomer can tell who will win from the warm-up. It’s the guy with the designer suitcase, right?
Then comes the long wait. Being Duplantis involves a lot of waiting. He skips the first height of 5.50m, sitting on the floor while others jump, drumming his knees to the stadium music. He clears 5.70m easily. Passes 5.80m. Flies over 5.85m with ease. Sam Kendricks and Emmanouil Karalis both clear 5.90m, celebrating like footballers. Duplantis passes 5.90m before vaulting 5.95m.
Now, at last, Duplantis has the spotlight. It’s his third and final attempt. The roar is huge, focused on him. He sets off. In a few seconds, he will fly into the crowd, the star of the greatest show on earth.
To read our blog on “Yes, Men Can Compete in Artistic Swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics,” click here