Armand Duplantis is one of athletics’ greatest.
But there’s one detail about Mondo that everyone should be talking about more.
– That is what impresses me the most, says expert Miro Zalar.
Armand Duplantis has had a tasty start to the new season, at least when it comes to wins. Duplantis has so far jumped the highest in four out of four competitions, but the feeling is still that he is not exactly where he wants to be. Apart from the event in Clermont-Ferrand, where Duplantis was millimeters from a new world record, he has had some problems with the jumping.
The expert’s great tribute
Duplantis came close to breaking out early in the final of the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, but Duplantis managed to stay in the competition under pressure, which he also eventually won. Duplantis is the greatest pole vaulter of all time, and he is in many ways a unique athlete. He says himself that he could have threatened some of the world’s best sprinters at shorter distances.
And precisely the quick approach is what many highlighted as a factor in Duplantis succeeding so well in the pole vault. But Duplantis also has a solid front bone, and coolness in decisive situations, which he showed not least during the final this weekend, when he passed the third and absolutely decisive attempt, at a height that he usually has no problems with. But the long-time expert Miro Zalar also highlights another quality that the most powerful Mondo possesses.
“What impresses the most”
Zalar believes that Duplantis has an almost unique ability to always want to break records. He highlights, as an example, last year’s Finnkamp. Mondo had a tight schedule, had problems with injuries, but still showed up and won the race already in 5.60. Despite that, he set the bar at 6.01 – and secured a new Finnkamp record.
– He couldn’t help but try – and it’s an ability Mondo has had since he was young. He wants to win the competition and then break some record, in that order. That he can be so incredibly motivated, to always find something to strive for in every competition, that’s a quality we don’t talk about enough. Everything else that is unique about him, we have worked it out, Zalar tells Expressen.
Duplantis has already managed to win several WC golds, the Olympics – and several world records. There is no doubt that he has everything it takes to succeed in the sport, but for Zalar, Duplanti’s ability to always find motivation is what stands out the most.
– The fact that he is so motivated for every competition is what impresses me most about Mondo, says Zalar.
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