After breaking multiple world records, Mondo Duplantis receives major honor for his victorious pursuits during the Olympic season

Mondo Duplantis received the men’s European Athlete of the Year honor owing to his success at the World Championship, Olympics, and European Championship. After achieving massive success at the Paris Olympics, Duplantis broke his pole vault world record for the tenth time at the Silesia Diamond League.

Duplantis, the most decorated pole vaulter in history, took the World U20 title and European U20 title at the age of 16. He won the European Championships in pole vault in 2018, where he also lowered the world under-20 record. Two of his other European titles came in 2022 and 2024. In the World Championships, the 24-year-old settled for pole vault silver in the 2019 edition but made up for his loss by lifting titles back-to-back in 2022 and 2024.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, his first Games edition, Duplantis cleared 6.02m to narrowly miss out on his world record time but clinch the Olympic title. In the 2024 edition of the Games, he reached the 6.25m mark to take his second consecutive Olympic title and break the world record for the ninth time. He became the first pole vaulter with back-to-back Olympic titles since Bob Richards achieved it at the 1952 and 1956 Games.

Days later, he cleared 6.26m to break his world record for the tenth time at the Silesia Diamond League.

After concluding his 2024 athletic season, the two-time Olympic gold medalist received the European Athlete of the Year honor, as posted by European Athletics' X post.

Duplanttis' tenth world record, worth 1339 points, was the first MVP of the meeting, which honored the World champion with a diamond-encrusted 14-carat gold 'Champion Ring' worth $10,000.

Duplantis also made waves in the 100m, having won the feat against 400m hurdles world record holder Karsten Warholm.

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Mondo Duplantis talked about manifesting his leap when he grasps his pole vault

Wanda Diamond League 2024 Final - Allianz Memorial Van Damme Brussels - Source: Getty

Mondo Duplantis started pole vaulting in his parents' backyard. Soon after, he was already the center of attention for his impressive leaps. After his Paris Olympic success, he shared how manifestation and a positive mindset earned him the title and the top positive in pole vault history.

"I close my eyes, take a deep breath and then just picture it in my head, the jump that I want to happen. It doesn’t always go like that but I think you get a much better chance if you can picture it in your head. I think that kind of positive mindset, visualisation, manifestation, is very important to make it happen," he recalled his thought process when he holds the pole. (via The Guardian)

The Swede received the Athlete of the Year by World Athletics in 2020, 2022 and 2023. The European Athletics Association also awarded him the Athlete of the Year award in 2022.