Armand Duplantis started competing for Sweden as a 15-year-old.
He doesn’t regret it in the slightest today.
– I am so grateful, he says.
Armand Duplantis is the best pole vaulter of all time, with several world records under his belt. Mondo is one of track and field’s most superior athletes, and what he has done in the pole vault is almost unparalleled in the history of the sport. Duplantis will soon aim to defend his Olympic gold, and it has become almost a habit to see him completely dominate during major championships.
Honest words about Sweden
But the fact is that it was far from obvious that Duplantis would take all the gold medals for Sweden. Duplantis’ mother Helena is from Avesta, and as a youngster Duplantis spent every summer in Dalarna. Today, he is one of Sweden’s absolute biggest celebrities in all categories, but he is not quite as big in the United States, despite his many years in Louisiana, where he grew up.
Armand Duplantis believes that he is largely not known at all in the United States, apart from the city of his childhood.
– I’m not a huge celebrity there, but when I’m in Louisiana, a lot of people recognize me, but they don’t get the point either. They say “he’s the guy who runs the weird pole vaulting thing”, says Duplantis in SVT’s Kallprat, which is broadcast on Monday evening.
“I’m so thankful”
Armand Duplantis was the world’s most promising pole vaulter when he was a teenager, and it was talked about when he chose to start competing for Sweden. Duplantis decided on the move when his father, Greg, was offered a coaching role in Sweden.
– I have not regretted at all that I compete for Sweden. Everything that I have received since several years, I am so grateful. I cannot understand the position I am still in, he says.
According to Duplantis’ agent Daniel Wessfeldt, it is also financially profitable for Duplantis that he competes for Sweden, compared to if he had competed for the USA. But for Duplantis, the financial aspects have never come into play.
– It wasn’t about money, that’s not why you start pole vaulting, it’s just pole vaulting, you don’t talk about that side of pole vaulting when you’re younger.
Sign up for our newsletter
Share