Indoor WC in Glasgow.
Then even Armand Duplanti’s rival is honest with his thoughts about the Swede.
– How often is he human? It’s not often…, says Chris Nilsen.
Armand Duplantis is the most superior athlete in all of athletics. It is more the rule than the exception that Mondo wins every competition he enters, and the number of losses in recent years can be counted on one hand. And his rivals know it…
Says what everyone is thinking
When Mondo now goes to this year’s indoor WC in Glasgow, Scotland, he does so as the biggest favorite, all disciplines included. Mondo is the reigning world champion, Olympic champion, and has several world records to his name. It happens that Duplantis doesn’t win, but he has a rare ability to be the very best when it matters, and to jump the highest in the biggest competitions.
Chris Nilsen is one of the sheep who managed to defeat Duplantis in recent years, and in an interview with SVT before the championship, he admits what everyone thinks about Duplantis – that he is barely human.
– We beat him a few times a year. I beat him at the Diamond League in Monaco last year. I beat him in 2021 at the Diamond League in Lausanne. Sometimes we win, so he’s definitely human. But how often is he human? It’s really not often at all…, he says.
Incredible tribute
However, Chris Nilsen believes, like all Mondo’s rivals, that Armand Duplanti’s huge star status is only positive for the pole vault.
– Now that Mondo, myself and several others are at such a high level, it generates money, popularity, fans and everything that benefits our sport, he says.
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Armand Duplantis is still young and can jump for many years to come. Considering the level that Duplantis is already at – and the track record he has – it is extremely exciting to think about what the future will look like.
– It’s cool that my friend Mondo is going to long jump, but it’s also cool that all of us are lifting the sport to completely new heights, he says.
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