Athletics
How hard can it be to jump just a little higher, Mondo Duplantis?
Being the greatest pole vaulter in history demands constant dedication. Nine-time record-breaking Armand Duplantis gives an exclusive insight into his taxing daily life.
The difference between 6.26 meters, the current world record in pole vaulting, and 6.27, a new world record, is just one small centimeter. That is the width of a standard pencil. How hard can it be?
Well, ask Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis. He’s gone higher than any other pole vaulter in history, not once, but nine times. From 6.17 meters back in 2020 to 6.26 in August 2024, each centimeter astronomically more difficult than the last. To keep going even higher, Duplantis needs to push both his own limits as well as the boundaries of the sport. To him, one centimeter is not just ten millimeters; it’s a whole new dimension.
The Swedish-American athlete keeps searching for the next piece of the puzzle in order to unlock new heights. But at the end of the day, despite his extraordinary achievements, he is still human, so how high can he actually go?
Watch the all new documentary "The Next Centimeter" for an exclusive glimpse into the world and mindset of one of this century's most extraordinary athletes and discover what it takes to keep breaking new ground in the world of sports.
Mondo Duplantis has jumped seven centimeters higher than any other person
© Adam Klingeteg / Red Bull Content Pool
01
Power combo: Determination and a winning mindset
The world’s greatest athletes seem to have, on one hand, this absolutely relentless drive to keep pushing boundaries, a hunger to keep improving themselves and to keep going further. At the same time, they have this belief that they can actually do it. They believe that they can become the world’s best. York-Peter Klöppel, the Head of Mental Performance at Red Bull's Athlete Performance Center, explains that it’s the combination of the two that creates a world class athletes and drives them to keep beating world records, again and again.
“Very soon after a world record, they start thinking about the next goal. What is next? How can I improve even more?” Klöppel says.
Even at a young age, Duplantis was hooked on pole vaulting
© Duplantis Family
Enter Duplantis. From a young age, he’s wanted to become the best in the world and, with hard work and determination, he's achieved just that. After he broke the world record the first time, he quickly started thinking about the next. And then the next after that. Today, having broken the world record seven times, that is having gone seven centimeters higher than anyone in the world, he thinks the challenge has just started.
"I love the challenge, and it doesn’t go away. It just gets harder and harder. The challenge, it seems, is really just starting", the Olympic and World Champion says.
02
Striving for one more record-breaking centimetre
The word challenge is understating the magnitude of what Duplantis is doing. Jumping one centimeter higher is getting increasingly more difficult with each new record he breaks.
Duplantis reflects on its scale: “It’s so marginal but makes more of a difference than you can imagine” he says. “Even if it’s one centimeter, it gets to a certain point where you hit it and it suddenly becomes so much more difficult.”
Being able to jump one more centimeter also symbolises improvement, that he is still progressing.
To get the perfect jump Duplantis needs everything to click on the day
© Richard Ström
03
Sprint training helps propel Armand Duplantis's pole vaulting
For Duplantis to break the world record again, he needs to get the margins on his side. From perfectly executing everything on competition day to putting in the work ahead of the events.
“There are so many things I have to get better at to jump one centimeter higher: it seems little but adds up to something big,” Duplantis says and explains that he works hard at finding the perfect balance between the technical side of the sport and the physical training. Because to be a pole vaulter, you don’t just need the perfect technique, you also have to be “a sprinter, a long jumper, and a gymnast”.
Duplantis actually trains a lot like a sprinter, several times a week, as his focus lately has been on gaining speed on the runway. He also works on his technique that, although extremely good, still needs adjustments and improvements. “Sometimes last year, I was losing the timing and the feeling of the pole, and I keep searching for that smooth flow and feeling more one with the pole,” Duplantis says.
Reaching speeds over 10 m/s, Mondo's run is faster than ever
© Richard Ström
There are so many things I have to get better at to jump one centimeter higher.
Related
One major technical aspect is when the pole hits the back of the box and the energy from the run transfers upwards into the jump. “You have to have your arms as high as possible and come off the ground by jumping up into it. No one really does it perfectly, and we always work on it", Greg Duplantis, technical coach and father explains.
04
The importance of building mental strength
To get the margins on Duplantis' side, it’s not just about his physical preparations; he also has to be mentally strong. Body and mind need to work in balance for great things to happen.
Klöppel explains: “It’s really important to have the mental strength to blend out the noise when it matters. When athletes are on the start line, they have to be excited, but not too excited in order to perform their best, and they have to conserve their energy before a competition by not getting too excited too early, but then turn it on in the right moment.”
Mondo can stay relaxed ahead of an event...
© Richard Ström
... and then turn it on when it matters
© Adam Klingeteg / Red Bull Content Pool
Mental preparation is just as important as the physical
© Predrag Vuckovic/Red Bull Content Pool
I keep an open mind and if I can put together everything in the right way, things can happen
It’s shortly before the event that an athlete has to turn on the engine, focus and get tunnel vision at the task at hand. Their concentration levels have to peak at the right moment for optimum results. It is something that comes easier to some athletes than to others, but even someone as mentally strong as Duplantis, it is still something he’s had to learn over the years:
“I’ve progressed in a lot of ways since being a junior. I’m much more confident, and that is something that comes with experience. As I jump more and put myself in high-pressure situations, it finds a way to get normal, and you learn to control your body and your mind. Of course, I can get nervous before a big event, but as soon as I get on track I am all good. I just want to let it rip”.
Pleasing fans one minute, breaking records the next
© Flo Hagena / Red Bull Content Pool
He’s also learned that sport isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being the best you can on that specific day. “I’ve broken a world record when a week or so prior, I’ve had tightness in my body and not been able to train. But things can happen, and that’s when you need to keep having trust and confidence in your abilities,” Duplantis says.
05
How high can Duplantis go?
Klöppel believes that for athletes to be great, there has to be a symbiosis between drive and belief. When they have that, an athlete can push themselves far beyond what others deem possible. Duplantis has both.
7 world records and still counting, Duplantis is no where near done
© Adam Klingeteg / Red Bull Content Pool
Whether it’s trying for a world record or me at seven years old wanting to jump three meters – it’s still the same drive. I just want to be better than I was yesterday.
With seven world records, Duplantis is nowhere near done, and his dad believes he can go as high as 6.40 meters. As far-fetched as that seems, Greg’s prediction isn’t taken out of thin air:
“I don’t think he’s at his peak right now. He is only 24, and pole vaulters typically peak in their late 20s to early 30s. He is still getting stronger, and I think he’s going to be better in four years than he is now. He is already jumping higher than anyone ever has, and to predict how high he can jump is crazy, and this probably does sound crazy, but I think he can get close to 6.40. If not 6.40. But it will require a lot of work.”
To predict how high Duplantis can jump is crazy, and this probably does sound crazy, but I think he can get close to 6.40.
What does Duplantis believe?
“Improvement is harder to come by now, in every aspect, not just performance but all the little things. But I try not to put a limit on myself and what can be achieved. I keep an open mind, and if I can put together everything in the right way, things can happen".