Mondo Duplantis (AP Photo) MUMBAI: After breaking the world record for the fifteenth time, pole vaulting superstar Mondo Duplantis is excited to return to the stage where his extraordinary sequence began. Toruń, a city in north-central Poland, will host the indoor world from March 20 to 22. It’s also where Duplantis first etched his name into the record books in February 2020, a full-circle moment for a supremely gifted athlete who has absolutely dominated his sport in those six years. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!“Torun is a very special place for me because I broke my first world record there,” the two-time reigning Olympic champion told reporters in a phone call on Sunday. “Since then I’ve been lucky enough to break a few, but the first one is always a very vital moment.“In one case, you go from not being a world record holder to becoming a world record holder, which is one of my biggest childhood dreams. I’m really excited about it, honestly, especially after what I did in Uppsala just now, which was obviously really good.”In case you missed Duplantis’ latest feat, the 26-year-old improved the bar to 6.31m at his home event, the Mondo Classic, last Thursday, extending his iron grip on the world record he’s held since breaking France’s Renaud Lavillenie’s previous mark of 6.17m six years ago.The three-time indoor and outdoor world champion explained how fine-tuning his run-up by a few steps played a key role in helping him control the stiffer bar in the transition to the 6.31m vault. “There was one stiffer bar that I was never really able to get to work,” he said. “I just couldn’t make it work at the weight I like to jump at. So I did it last weekend.”“I made a little change in my approach and my run. I usually run from a 20-step approach and moved it to a 22-step approach, which doesn’t sound like a big difference, but it’s actually quite different.”“I don’t have speed data, but I think I was clearly able to add some kind of extra energy to the takeoff because I was able to use a stiffer bar that I hadn’t been able to use for about four years.”For someone who has won 38 straight contests, with the last loss coming in August 2023, Duplantis was asked if he feared his incredible streak would come to an end. “I’ve never had a problem like that,” said the Swede. “I think you can never have too much arrogance and be too confident when it comes to sport and you can never underestimate your opponents, but also the sport itself.“I know that whenever I do the things that I know I can do, focus and jump the way I know I can jump, every time I go out on the track I feel like I’m the best.”But in “such a tough sport,” Duplantis stressed, “there is no slacking off.” “Especially at this level, it’s like I always have to bring my A game. I never feel like it’s given to me,” he said.As for how much further or higher he could go, Duplantis said the thrill for him was simply “the journey” and “pushing the envelope” as long as he competed.“I’m just expecting a certain level of what I think is possible on the day, so I’m going to keep pushing and if I can do it, so be it,” he said.
