Mondo Duplantis continues good run of form as Swede wins his own tournament in Uppsala

Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion Mondo Duplantis displayed his exceptional pole vaulting skills at the 2024 Mondo Classic.

The 24-year-old registered the 5.92m mark at the latest edition of the Mondo Classic — an event named after him. He bested the American duo of K.C. Lightfoot and Sam Kendricks on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at the IFU Arena in Uppsala, Sweden.

While Kendricks could not clear above the 5.82m mark at the competition, Lightfoot cleared the 5.92m mark with Duplantis. However, unlike Duplantis, he failed to soar it on the first attempt.

Duplantis competed against seven of the best pole vaulters around, including Pal Haugen Lillefosse, Thibaut Collet, Ben Broeders, Kurtis Marschall, and Chris Nilsen. The duo of Marschall and Nilsen, who previously tied for third place at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the Hungarian capital, once again tied in Sweden for sixth place after registering a 5.67m jump.

The Swede pole-vaulter recorded a height of 6.10m in the same event last year. During the event's live stream, he stated that while the victory was important, he aimed to jump higher for the home crowd (h/t Olympics.com):

"To be able to come away with the win it definitely was the most important part. I wanted to jump higher, I think it was possible, but I had a tricky time on the runway today in terms of the poles. The poles felt soft - softer than I thought that they would."

"The atmosphere was fantastic. I wish I could have jumped a little higher for them. It just didn't happen today," Dupalntis said.

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A look at Mondo Duplantis' Olympic and World Championships achievements

Gold medalist Armand Duplantis looks at his medal during the medal ceremony for the Men's Pole Vault Final at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Mondo Duplantis has secured three medals, including two gold medals, at the World Championships. He secured his first World Championship medal in 2019 in Doha, Qatar, where was placed second after clearing the 5.97 mark in his third attempt.

At the 2022 WAC in Eugene, Oregon, the Swede earned his first World Champion title by setting a new world record after registering a jump of 6.21m. At last year's World Championships in the Hungarian capital, he bagged another title by recording a jump of 6.10m.

Apart from his World Championships accolades, the 24-year-old has also bagged an Olympic gold medal. During the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, he clinched the gold medal after clearing a height of 6.02 m in his first attempt.