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Mondo Duplantis recalled how coming second in the pole jump at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships still lingers at the back of his mind, despite having won back-to-back titles in the SEC and NCAA Indoors. Duplantis was a freshman at LSU in 2019 but forwent his NCAA career at the end of the season.
Mondo Duplantis soared to the pole vault victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics, breaking the world record for the ninth time. He then went on to clinch another pole vault title at the Silesia Diamond League, winning the record for the tenth time. In the Diamond League finals in Brussels, the Swede-American lifted his fourth DL trophy to end his 2024 season on a successful note.
The 25-year-old earned the pole vault gold at the European Championships besides winning titles World Indoor and Outdoor Championship titles. At the NCAA level, he won Indoor and Outdoor SEC, NCAA Division I, and other titles but couldn't achieve the pole podium at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
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In an episode of Hey Fightin' Podcast Network released on Thursday, November 21, he reflected on his NCAA Outdoors silver medal finish and how it still affects him more because it was the last time he wore the LSU jersey at the Nationals.
"I broke the NCAA record indoors once, one SEC outdoors, broke the NCAA record, first guy to jump over six meters. And then I get second, which stung really badly because it's also kind of I mean, I knew also in the moment because I knew what was that gonna happen after that. It was my last time wearing that uniform. It was like a retirement kind of game for me," he said (21:49).
He added:
"It's really tough to not feel like you have that chance to retaliate and get that revenge almost in a way...I won from then on and won much everything, but that NCAA title yet haunts me a little bit."
In 2020, Duplantis played an integral role in LSU's first SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championship win since 1990.
Mondo Duplantis claimed that his younger self wouldn't have been surprised by his unrivaled success
During his recent visit to his alma mater, Mondo Duplantis was given a childhood photo of him jumping over the pole. When asked what message he would've given to his younger self, Duplantis said:
"He really wouldn't be surprised. This dude was super cocky and confident. The little kid that really wanted the world," Duplantis said, highlighting the confidence his younger self had.
Confirming that the picture was from 2010, he added:
"Remember like it was yesterday. It's crazy to think about this and then now where I am but everything goes just so fast in the blink of an eye."
The Pole vaulter recently got engaged to his long-time girlfriend Desire Inglander, a fashion model from Sweden.
