Sky is the limit for Swedish-American pole vault sensation “Mondo” Duplantis

With his boyish charm, steadfast determination, textbook technique and already 15 years of experience with a pole in his hands, at age 21, Armando “Mondo” Duplantis could dominate the pole vault for years to come.

Naturally, Tuesday evening’s men’s Olympic pole vault at Tokyo Olympic Stadium could be a giant leap in that direction. Expectations are high – a lofty bar has already been set.

“I have been basically jumping my whole life for this moment,” says Duplantis, prior to competition in Tokyo. “Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted to compete in the Olympics, and now the time is finally here after 15 years of jumping.

“Of course it’s a little stressful when you know it’s the biggest thing in your life. The expectations are high and people expect great things, but I think the most pressure is on yourself.

“This is such an important moment for me - I’m trying not to let it overwhelm me, I don’t think it has yet.”

Perhaps Mondo’s path on the Olympic runway is now slightly easier, as his chief rival, U.S. vaulter Sam Kendricks is out of the competition, isolated in Tokyo, having tested positive for COVID-19. However, he says Kendricks pushes him to higher bars. Duplantis, members of the tight-knit pole vault fraternity and fans all expressed an outpouring of support for the American record holder and Rio 2016 bronze medalist.

On Instagram Live, while in isolation, Kendricks posed the question to his father and coach: “Who is going to go toe-to-toe with Mondo – Piotr (Lisek), Chris (Nilsen), Renaud (Lavillenie)?” he asked, referring to the elite Polish vaulter, his fellow American and the French 2012 Olympic champion and former world record holder.

Rio 2016 gold medalist Thiago Braz da Silva, the Olympic record holder at 6.03m, has also qualified for Tuesday’s final.

Duplantis enters the Olympic pole vault riding a hot streak. He has cleared six meters in his last two competitions before the Games, a level of consistency above the imposing six-meter mark that none of his rivals have been able to match.

Having won both the 2018 World Juniors and European Championships, Duplantis also vaulted to eight Diamond League victories between 2018 – 2021. He set the current world record of 6.18m (20 ft, 3¼ in.), indoors in Glasgow, Scotland, in Feb. 2020. One week prior, Duplantis broke Lavillenie’s almost six-year world record with a jump of 6.17m in Torun, Poland.

Duplantis competed for Louisiana State University on the NCAA collegiate circuit, before opting to represent Sweden, as he is a dual citizen with an American father and Swedish mother.

A fellow vaulter shares his thoughts on Mondo

Pole vault legend, 1988 Olympic champion and longtime IOC member Sergey Bubka believes “Mondo” has taken all the right steps and is poised for an explosive Olympic performance in Japan. It has been 33 years since the Ukrainian soared to his Olympic gold medal at Seoul 1988.

“Mondo is in excellent shape, he looks very strong,” Bubka tells Around the Rings. “I think he will be tough to beat.”

Bubka, who broke the pole vault world record 35 times and soared to six world titles between 1983 and 1995, says Duplantis possesses all the right stuff to propel the daring event, and perhaps all of Athletics, to greater heights.

“He has a very unique personality, jumping from six-years-old to deliver great performances,” Bubka says. “What he has achieved I consider very unique because he is very young and very talented - he is already a world record holder with big potential.

“He is still growing year-by-year with his amazing performances.”

Bubka attributes a large part of Mondo’s success to strong family support, his father and coach Greg is a former vaulter from Sergey’s era, and his Swedish mother Helena provides unwavering support while attending many of his meets. Plus, the pole vault wunderkind has been groomed to succeed from an early age.

Mondo’s quarantined friend Kendricks has even joked that he is “a science experiment.”

Bubka won his Olympic gold medal in Seoul 1988, at age 25, although he missed a potentially golden opportunity at Los Angeles 1984, already a world champion in 1983, due to the Soviet Union boycott, in response to the U.S.-led boycott of Moscow 1980.

Mondo, at age 21 and almost nine months, could become the youngest Olympic pole vault champion since Barcelona 1992, when Maksim Tarasov vaulted to gold representing the Unified Team, just 18 days younger than Mondo will be as he takes to the runway on Tuesday.

Duplantis feels that he is well-prepared, both physically and mentally, one of 14 vaulters contesting the event final. Rain showers, forecast for Tuesday evening in Tokyo, could provide for tough conditions and make it exceedingly difficult for the field to achieve high bars.

“I don’t really have to think about anything special or go out of my way to get so much faster, stronger and better technique than where I’m at right now,” Duplantis said.

“I’m just going to go in there, find a rhythm on the runway, get used to the set-up and take a few jumps beforehand to try and be clean.”

Track and Field’s superstar of the future?

Athletics needs fresh new stars to move the sport forward, especially considering that one flamboyant Jamaican superstar is no longer lighting up the track.

Despite a scintillating performance by Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs, who dashed to gold in the men’s 100m event on Sunday to state his claim, Duplantis appears to possess all of the attributes to become ‘The Face’ of the sport.

Bubka arguably took on this role in his era, alongside Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson, in the 1980′s and 1990′s, and he believes Mondo could follow in his track spikes.

“He has a great opportunity, a great chance to be a big star,” says Bubka, also a vice president at World Athletics. “In the end, we need heroes, we need stars in Athletics – very recognized, worldwide.

“This is great for Athletics, great for sport and great for the Olympics,” says the pole vault icon.

Veteran meet director Alfonz Juck, who convinced Duplantis to compete at the Golden Spike Meeting in the Czech Republic earlier this year – as he had done numerous times with Usain Bolt over the years - says more time may be required for Mondo to assume this title.

“To be face of the sport, he needs to win global gold medals – Tokyo could be the first one,” Juck says. “Also more world records would help, but definitely he could be the real star in the future.

“For the moment, only keen observers would go to see a meet with him, as he is not yet a name somebody on the street would recognize, but he has the chance to be like that,” says the Slovak promoter.

Bubka believes Mondo will elevate the pole vault family into an exciting, high-flying, new era.

“The new era for pole vaulters will be over 6.20 meters and he is the guy to lead this era,” Bubka says. ”We are faster, stronger, higher, and don’t forget together.”

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