It has been a long time coming for LSU Track and Field legend Mondo Duplantis, but he has finally written his name in the record books.
Duplantis broke the men’s pole vault world record Saturday afternoon at an indoor meet in Torun, Poland with a 6.17-meter jump.
The Lafayette native had a remarkable season pole vaulting with LSU Track and Field last year, setting the indoor and outdoor collegiate records, winning the NCAA indoor championship and finishing as a Bowerman finalist. Now competing professionally for the Swedish national team, he has already cemented his legacy as one of the greatest pole vaulters in history at 20 years old.
After breaking the six meter mark just four days ago in Düsseldorf, Germany, Duplantis had attempted the 6.17 world record mark that same meet. On his descent, he narrowly clipped the bar, and fell short of his historic goal. It seems as though it was only a minor obstacle in the inevitable fulfillment of Duplantis’s greatness.
“I’ve wanted to break the world record since I was three years old,” Duplantis told reporters post meet. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’m on cloud nine right now. There’s no secret to what I do; I just put in a lot of hard work.”
Duplantis comes from a family of athletes, with his dad Greg and brother Andreas formerly competing as pole vaulters, his Swedish mother Helena formerly competing as a heptathlete and volleyball player, and his brother Antoine, LSU baseball’s all-time hit leader and a professional baseball player in the New York Mets organization.
“I can’t thank my parents enough for helping me to get to where I’m at now,” Duplantis said on his support system. “All the support I had from everybody is the reason why I did this.”
With the Summer Olympics approaching, eyes from all over the world will be on the Louisiana native as he continues to leave his mark on history. No one expects him to accomplish anything less.
Duplantis broke the men’s pole vault world record Saturday afternoon at an indoor meet in Torun, Poland with a 6.17-meter jump.
The Lafayette native had a remarkable season pole vaulting with LSU Track and Field last year, setting the indoor and outdoor collegiate records, winning the NCAA indoor championship and finishing as a Bowerman finalist. Now competing professionally for the Swedish national team, he has already cemented his legacy as one of the greatest pole vaulters in history at 20 years old.
After breaking the six meter mark just four days ago in Düsseldorf, Germany, Duplantis had attempted the 6.17 world record mark that same meet. On his descent, he narrowly clipped the bar, and fell short of his historic goal. It seems as though it was only a minor obstacle in the inevitable fulfillment of Duplantis’s greatness.
“I’ve wanted to break the world record since I was three years old,” Duplantis told reporters post meet. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’m on cloud nine right now. There’s no secret to what I do; I just put in a lot of hard work.”
Duplantis comes from a family of athletes, with his dad Greg and brother Andreas formerly competing as pole vaulters, his Swedish mother Helena formerly competing as a heptathlete and volleyball player, and his brother Antoine, LSU baseball’s all-time hit leader and a professional baseball player in the New York Mets organization.
“I can’t thank my parents enough for helping me to get to where I’m at now,” Duplantis said on his support system. “All the support I had from everybody is the reason why I did this.”
With the Summer Olympics approaching, eyes from all over the world will be on the Louisiana native as he continues to leave his mark on history. No one expects him to accomplish anything less.
