Armand "Mondo" Duplantis traded handshakes and hugs with the pole vaulters he'd just beaten to capture his third world championship. He took a leisurely walk toward the stands to talk to his parents, his brother, and his fiancee. Then, like any great performer in a jam-packed stadium, he turned around, walked back onto the "stage," and delivered the encore the people had been waiting for. It was another world record—the 14th time he's set it—by clearing the bar at 6.30 meters, his third and final attempt Monday night in Tokyo, in front of a crowd of 53,000, per the AP.
"To be able to enjoy this world record with them and give them that is super special," Duplantis said of his feat in front of fans at Japan National Stadium. "Especially considering the last time I was in this stadium, we didn't have any spectators. It was spooky and eerie and super weird, and not very fun, honestly." The night of his last performance in that arena was during the COVID Olympics, held a year late in 2021 and without any fans. Duplantis settled for "only" the gold medal that time and missed the world record. The difference, he suspects, was the energy missing during those silent Games.
This time, there was noise and fun—fans clapped in rhythm every time Duplantis lined up—and like any great artist, Mondo knew how to play to the crowd. After clearing 6.10, for instance, he imitated Japanese baseball Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki's prebat sleeve-tugging routine. "My brother was in the crowd and he plays baseball, so I was trying to fire him up," Duplantis said. "And the Japanese people, if they understood it, it was just something fun." The Louisiana-born phenom, who competes for his mother's native Sweden and started breaking records on Feb. 8, 2020, collected $70,000 for the win—his 49th straight dating to September 2022—along with the $100,000 bonus that goes to record-breakers at world championships. More here.