Mondo Duplantis: How high can he go?
After breaking his own pole vault record in Belgrade, Olympic champion Duplantis ran over to greet supporters including partner Desiré Inglander. The two have recently moved in together in Stockholm.
Athletics
At 22, Mondo Duplantis is already on top of the world.
Last week, the Swedish pole vaulter cleared 6.19m in Belgrade to break his own world record which had stood for over two years.
This weekend, he returns to the Serbian capital for the World Athletics Indoors Championships having finished eighth on debut in 2018.
While Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 was his premier sporting achievement in the past year, Duplantis also had a major event in his personal life as he moved into a Stockholm apartment with girlfriend Desiré Inglander.
"In pole vaulting, I am quite experienced. But in real life, ordinary 22-year-old things are going on." Mondo Duplantis to Sportbladet
Inglander delights in Belgrade world record
Duplantis' partner was there in person for the first time as he made history once more.
When he cleared 6.19m with his third and final attempt, the Olympic champion ran into the crowd to greet his supporters and hugged and kissed Inglander.
A couple of hours later, she told SVT Sport she was pleasantly surprised that Duplantis had broken the record in front of her.
Inglader said, "I didn't believe it. I was just waiting for the bar to fall down, but it didn't. It was really cool.
"I always believe in him, but it is probably more that it is so unreal. It was awesome, really!"
The pair started dating in June 2020 after Duplantis got in touch with the fashion model via Instagram.
He told Sportbladet in January, "She probably did not think I had good intentions at the start. I had to prove it.
"But if I were in her position, I would not trust someone straight away. You have to prove it with actions and not just words. I had to prove over time that I was a respectable young man, ha! And that I would treat her with respect. It won her over, I think."
Duplantis previously spent half the year in the United States and the other half 70km north of Stockholm in Uppsala.
In an interview with Cafe.se in December 2020, he said, "My mother used to compete for Upsala IF and I have competed for the club since 2016. The training facility is great and it is close to Stockholm. But Stockholm offers too many distractions for me. In Uppsala, I can reach my full potential as an athlete."
His relationship with Inglander has prompted a change of heart and location.
The pair - who started vlogging together in December - moved into an apartment on Kungsholmen Island in the Swedish capital having returned from Christmas and New Year celebrations at the Duplantis family home in Louisiana.
After signing for the property last November, Duplantis told UNT, as reported by expressen.se, "I have always thought Stockholm is a nice city. My girlfriend is there and it's so nice in the summer.
"I really like the area. I have been there a lot because her family lives in the area."
Judging by his Belgrade exploits, his new living arrangements have had little effect on his prowess in the sporting arena.
How high can Mondo Duplantis go?
It took over two years - albeit interrupted by the pandemic - for Duplantis to break the absolute world record for a third time.
As he said immediately afterwards, "I think I've tried 6.19m 50 times. It's been a long time coming. I've never had a height quite give me the trouble like that in my entire life and I've been jumping for a very long time."
He also indicated that this weekend's World Indoors could see him break it again, adding, "This is a really good place to jump. I'm excited to come back to Belgrade.
"I feel like I can jump a lot higher than I've jumped. I feel like this is just a start. I think there are a lot more barriers to push, getting into the 6.20s."
Sweden national team captain and former high jump world champion Kajsa Bergqvist told SVT Sport, "It means a lot to him. He has broken world records before, but he really had to fight to cope with this step. He has jumped incredibly well over the past year, so it was well deserved.
"He is so incredibly talented. I think we will see many more world records from Mondo in his career."
The last word goes to the great Sergey Bubka whose 26-year-old outdoor record fell to Duplantis in September 2020.
Speaking months before the Swede started rewriting the record books, the Seoul 1988 gold medallist and six-time world champion said, "If you do the right technique, I would say 6.30m, 6.40m, 6.50m is achievable today."
For Duplantis, 6.20m is the first target.