PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Armand Duplantis is the world’s best pole vaulter.
Now the truth is revealed as to why he is so incredibly superior.
– It’s not just the speed that makes “Mondo” unique, expert Miro Zalar admits to DN.
He is only 24 years old and has already won everything there is to win in athletics. Armand Duplantis has in recent years mostly competed against himself and what great heights he will reach after securing the gold medal in major championships.
Mondo’s success
“Mondo” has also done very well by pushing himself to eight world records so far in his pole vaulting career. Most recently, he cleared 6.24 meters with ease in the first attempt during a Diamond League competition in China.
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But what makes him so damn good, really? Now the Swedish expert explains Miro Zalar the secret behind the great success and why Duplantis can jump over 50 centimeters better than the 5.70 meters he himself managed during his time as a pole vaulter.
– It’s not just the speed that makes Mondo unique. He puts the stick in the box like no one else, Zalar explains to Dagens Nyheter.
– I used to insert it two decimetres from the wall, but Mondo drops the rod already before the edge of the box and can thus complete the last step in the jump. Together with the speed he has in his running, it creates an enormous energy.
Duplanti’s technique
Mondo himself has said that he developed that technique as a small child. In addition, when Duplantis comes with such a speed of ten meters per second, he brings even more energy into the pole and the jump.
– Sergej Bubka ran just as fast. I ran 9.3 meters per second. Then you will understand why it was 5.70 and not six meters for me. The big advantage for Mondo is that he has built up a basic technique since he was little and so he has jumped with the physics he had. If you constantly get a little faster and a little stronger and can maintain the technique, you will jump higher because then you can take stiffer poles or hold higher on the pole, says Zalar in the interview.
– If I understood it correctly, he is now aiming to hold 5.20 or 5.25. They have a long term plan for this. But even though I probably had better strength than Mondo, I wasn’t fast enough and therefore wouldn’t be able to handle his spells. I usually compare it to playing with Björn Borg’s tennis racket or skiing with Ingemar Stenmark’s skis. Do you think I would be fine then? You must also be able to handle the tool.
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Miro Zalar sees clear similarities between Armand Duplantis and the icons Sergey Bubka and Renaud Lavillenie, two pole vaulters that Mondo has really looked up to growing up. But the expert sees the Swedish world star as a cross between both Bubka and Lavillenie.
– Lavillenie jumps nicely with a lot of bend. Bubka was like a machine, says Zalar to the daily newspaper and does not think that Duplanti’s technique is perfected yet.
– His technique is really good, but it’s not like he can’t do things even better.
How high do you think Armand Duplantis can jump? Share the article and have your say!
READ MORE: Armand Duplanti’s new weapon that changes everything – and will bring new Olympic gold this summer: “It’s really special”
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