For a man so familiar with life above six meters, Mondo Duplantis looked unusually earthbound on Friday evening. The crowd in Monte Carlo, attuned to the rhythm of his success, leaned in each time the bar climbed. Yet when it reached 6.29 meters, one centimeter above his current world record, the magic wavered. Three misses followed, and once again, the record remained out of reach.
The reigning Olympic champion had cleared 6.05 meters, setting a new meet record and eclipsing the previous mark held by Piotr Lisek since 2019. That vault secured Duplantis the win, his sixteenth consecutive Diamond League victory. Yet as he stood on the runway preparing for another world record attempt, the expression on his face hinted at something more complicated than focus. It spoke of calculation, risk, and, by his own admission, a quiet fear.
Duplantis spoke openly about the mental preparation required before each jump. “Throughout the competition I think about all kind of things,” he said. “But I try not to overthink the jump too much. I try to just relax and come up with a type of clarity in my head with what I want to accomplish on the next jump and then I just kind of trust this to happen,” the Olympic gold medalist further continued. That equilibrium, he suggested, remains delicate. The discipline that once made the task mechanical has begun to shift under the weight of expectation.
The statement, offered with candor, marked a departure from his typical polish. It was a glimpse into the psychological tug that now accompanies these record attempts. A form of tension that is harder to conquer than gravity. His remarks also underscored how close the margins have become. “Karalis was amazing today,” he said, nodding to the Greek vaulter who reached 5.92 meters and pushed him in the early rounds. “If he would have made it [6.10], then I would have had to jump 6.15. The competition is there. I just need to keep jumping the way I can jump, then I know that I can be good,” Duplantis reflected.
MAGIC IN FOR MONDO
Duplantis impresses once again as he steals another #DiamondLeague record
He vaulted 6.05m to secure the #MonacoDL pic.twitter.com/24t3NIP0Qe
— Wanda Diamond League (@Diamond_League) July 11, 2025
In that phrasing, Duplantis acknowledged not only the external challenge, but the internal rhythm he is trying to preserve. Something increasingly fragile the higher the bar climbs. Even in moments of frustration, Duplantis remains methodical. He described his recovery process with a sense of ritual. “I just sleep in to recover from my competitions. I think recovering physically is the most important thing. Mentally, I just need a day or two and then I feel I am ready again.”
That readiness is not a guarantee, but a discipline he rehearses continually. “For me, I can’t lose a competition. I got to make sure I am always ready because I know those guys want to beat me,” Duplantis echoed with resilience. Outside the stadium, Duplantis finds space in his music. An outlet that, according to him, serves as both a distraction and a companion. “I spend a lot of time on music actually,” he said. “It takes a lot of work to finish it. I get obsessed with it and I think it’s a really good thing for me because I can just block out everything else.” That intensity, whether on the runway or in a recording studio, appears to stem from the same internal engine. A need to be excellent, and a fear of slipping just below that threshold. For now, the world record stays where it is, and Duplantis remains the man closest to it. But each new attempt carries more weight than the last. Not only because of the height, but because of what it asks him to overcome.
This is a developing story…
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