American Mondo Duplantis kisses model girlfriend, punches teammate in wild scene while celebrating record-setting pole vault for Sweden.
Now that’s how you celebrate a world record
In the pole vault final, Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis not only won gold with a 6.25-meter jump — he set a world record with the feat at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
With the crowd from Stade de France in full throat and even other competitors cheering him on, the 24-year-old Duplantis narrowly soared over the 6.25m bar, then sprinted over to kiss his girlfriend, Swedish model Desire Inglander.
Duplantis also embraced Swedish teammates, one of whom he even punched in celebration.
To cap it all off, Duplantis hit a Michael Jordan-esque shrug after greeting his awaiting family in the front row.That wasn’t his only relevant celebration, though.
Duplantis also mimicked Turkey’s famed silver medalist shooter Yusuf Dikec, who participated with minimal protective gear and led some to believe he had previous sharpshooting experience.
Maybe most impressive is that the Lafayette, La. native had already won gold with a 6.10-meter vault on Monday, but still had more left in the tank and willingly wanted to attempt a higher mark.
The win for Duplantis notched his second straight Olympic gold after also doing so in Tokyo.
Duplantis’ new zenith ever-so-slightly beat his own previous best of 6.24 meters in April.
His first-place finish also came on the heels of gold in the 2024 World Indoor Championships and at the 2024 European Championships.
Duplantis competed for LSU collegiately and won the 2019 NCAA indoor championship with the Tigers.
As to why he’s representing Sweden instead of the United States, Duplantis’ mom, Helena, is a former Swedish volleyball player and heptathlete.
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Duplantis’ athletic prowess doesn’t stop with his accolades, either.
His brother, Antoine, was a 12th-round pick by the Mets out of LSU in 2019, although he hasn’t played minor league baseball since 2022.
The phenom’s otherworldly feat gave Sweden its third gold medal and eighth overall.
