MUMBAI: Fresh from breaking the world record for the 15th time, pole vault superstar Mondo Duplantes is excited to return to the scene where his extraordinary streak began. Torun, a city in north-central Poland, will host the Worlds indoors from March 20-22. It was here that Duplantes entered the record books for the first time in February 2020, representing a full-circle moment for an exceptionally gifted athlete who has completely dominated her sport over the past six years. Go beyond limits with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!The two-time reigning Olympic champion told reporters during a call on Sunday that Turin is a very special place for me because I broke my first world record there. “I’ve been lucky enough to break a few since then, but the first one is always a life-changing moment.“You go from not being a world record holder, in one instance, to being a world record holder, which is one of my biggest childhood dreams.” I’m really excited for it, to be honest, especially after what I just did in Uppsala, which was definitely great.In case you missed Duplantes’ latest feat, the 26-year-old cleared the bar at 6.31m at his home meet, the Mondo Classic, last Thursday. He looked to extend his iron-clad grip on the world record since eclipsing the previous mark by Frenchman Renaud Lavellini six years ago with a jump of 6.17m.The three-time indoor and outdoor world champion explained how correcting her run-up by two steps while going for a 6.31m vault played a key role in her overcoming a tight pole. “It was such a hard pole that I could never really go to work,” he said. “I haven’t really been able to work out the weight that I like to jump at. And so I was able to work it out this past weekend.“I’ve changed a little bit with my approach and my run-up. I normally run from a 20-step approach and I’ve switched it to a 22-step approach, which doesn’t seem like much of a difference, but it’s actually quite different.“I don’t have the speed data, but I think I was obviously able to add some extra energy to the takeoff because I was able to use that stiff pole that I haven’t been able to use for four years.”For someone who has won 38 straight bouts, with the last defeat coming in August 2023, Duplants was asked if he feared his incredible streak would come to an end. “I didn’t really have that problem,” the Swede said. “I think when it comes to sports you can never be too emotional and too confident, and you can never underestimate the sport itself, not just your opponents.“I know that whenever I do what I know I can do, and I focus and I jump the way I know I can jump, then I feel like I’m at my best every time I step on the track.”But in “a tough game like this”, Duplants stressed, “there is no slack”. “Especially at this level, it seems like I always have to bring my A game. I never feel like it’s just given to me,” he said.As for how much further, or even higher, he can still go, Duplants said the thrill for him as long as he was competing was just in “the journey” and “pushing the envelope.”“I just expect a certain level of whatever I think is possible that day, so I’m going to push it, and as far as I can take it, then it will be what it will be,” he said.
