Armand Duplantis was starstruck when he met Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Now he reveals exactly what the icon told him.
– You can believe that he can be quite tough, says Mondo to Aftonbladet.
Armand Duplantis has already won everything there is to win. He is the superior giant in every Diamond League competition for the past four years, and he is the reigning Olympic and World Cup gold medallist.
The meeting with Zlatan’s
Add to that that Duplantis has a whole series of world records to his name, and it is easy to understand why he has so quickly become one of Sweden’s biggest and most popular athletes. Duplantis has won many of Sweden’s finest awards, and he has also won a number of prestigious awards abroad for his efforts. But despite his star status, it is an athlete who has made him completely starstruck.
In previous interviews, Mondo has only said that it happened once that he was actually starstruck. A few years ago he was at an F1 race in Italy, in classic Monza, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic was also there. Then Mondo couldn’t muster up the courage to come forward and talk. But last year, pictures of a conversation between the two Swedish superstars during the F1 competition in Las Vegas were spread, but what was actually unknown.
The words that made his jaw drop
But now Duplantis reveals exactly what Zlatan said to him, and also knocks down the image many have of him.
– I just walked up and introduced myself and he said he knew who I was. It was cool, he was very warm and very nice. I didn’t know, because you can think that he can be quite hard, and he certainly can, but to me he was funny and warm. We only talked briefly, a little about sports and where we both are, says Mondo to Aftonbladet.
After Zlatan Ibrahimovic ended his career, Armand Duplantis is Sweden’s biggest sports star internationally. But that’s nothing that Mondo thought about during the meeting itself.
– No, not at all, but it’s clear that on the inside you think this is pretty cool. It feels like it was yesterday when I was little and played Zlatan on Fifa (video game). So it’s a bit surreal in a way. But in the end, it’s just one person you’re talking to, regardless of who you are, you’re just one person talking to another.
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