Armand Mondo Duplantis has won our Athlete of the Year poll for 2024, in which 518 journalists from 111 countries participated. This is a worldwide poll and he won with a big margin, more than 200 points ahead of second-placed Novak Djokovic in the men’s category.
In the last two years he was second in our poll, behind Messi and Djokovic, respectively. He spoke to us from Are in Sweden.
Now you are the number 1 not only in athletics
That’s awesome. Thank you very much.
Let us start from your beginning. You were born in the US, when did you move to Sweden?
Well, some years ago, I still have base in both currently, but I spend more time in Sweden now.
When did you first put on the Swedish national team jersey?
In 2015. It was at the World U18 Championships in Cali, Colombia. That was the first time I competed for Sweden. I was 15 years old, about to turn 16.
And the result? Do you remember?
Yes, I jumped 5.30m and won.
Training with Isaksson and Stenmark
In Sweden, half a century ago, there was a world record holder in pole vault, Kjell Gunnar Isaksson. I knew him because at that time I was a young reporter… Is he still around the sport?
Yes. Where I train in Sweden, Isaksson usually still trains there. He still jumps. He doesn’t jump very high but he still jumps. And you know who also trains there in pole vault now? Ingemar Stenmark. They’re always there in the morning. I unfortunately don’t wake up early enough so usually when I’m coming in, they’re coming out. But they’re always there.
Ingemar is a very special guy. But to try pole vault at this age, I don’t know why.
He’s different. I think you have to be built a little bit differently to do great things, I guess.
How high does he jump?
He’s good, and he has good feeling for it, especially doing it so late in life. He jumped 3.00m at World Masters Athletics Championship held in Sweden this past year.
Where is the stadium where they are training?
It’s Sollentuna, near Stockholm
Let’s talk a bit about your technique. First of all, how long is your pole?
5.20 m.
And at which level is your grip?
Maybe 5.13 m.
What’s the weight of your pole?
It’s like four or five kilos
But to reach 6.30m, 6.40m do you need a longer pole or your current 5.20m pole is sufficient?
Well, for the most part, I have used the same pole length. I’ve been using the same pole length since 2018. It just gets stiffer. The most important thing is the stiffness of the pole, because the stiffness determines how much you’re going to get back from it, how much recoil you’re going to get back from the pole. So I just try to use stiffer poles. I have some poles that are five centimeters longer too, but I haven’t used them because I’m not there yet, and I need to have a little bit more speed, I guess.
Are the 5.25m poles stiffer or softer than the ones you’re using for the world records?
They are softer. But I have one more that I never used this year. It’s stiffer but I just couldn’t really get on it. I guess I was just too light. But if I could get on that then maybe it can shoot me up a little higher too.
You used it in training?
No, I never used it, I use way softer poles in training. I use about two poles softer than I do in competition. So I would say I just don’t have the same speed, same adrenaline, same energy.
The importance of speed to fly higher
I’ve seen that the most important thing for you is speed. Do you think you can still increase your speed?
Sure. I don’t think it’s maxed out. I think that there’s some more to give, and there’s some more speed in me. It’s about getting faster for one and then getting faster on the runway, which is the most important, because you can be fast but it has to directly correlate to the runway – which it usually does.
But I think the more I find the rhythm and everything in the run and, of course, physically I’m good, then the more speed I can generate also through to takeoff. But I think that there’s more to give, for sure.
How many steps are you using on the runway?
20.
So in 20 steps, what is your speed at the top moment?
I don’t know. I mean, at the Olympics, they said it was 10.6 meters per second. That seems too fast and so wrong. I don’t know the way it was measured but I think there are different measurements because I’ve heard a lot of, like, 10.2m per second. I’ve also done 10.3m before.
20 steps are enough to go higher?
I would like to go back to 22, but the problem is that most facilities don’t have the room for it.
No chance in sprint with Americans and Jamaicans
You were also so quick when you were a kid and were beating others in the sprint, but why didn’t you choose the sprint?
Because Americans and Jamaicans are too fast. I like sprinting, it’s one of my favourite things, but I do like the complexity and the technical side of pole vaulting. I think that’s what makes it so challenging and what makes it so rewarding and fulfilling also.
But the problem is flying. For you it was easy to fly because you have a father and a brother that fly, so it was normal for you to fly. But many people are scared to fly, because when you are in the air, you never know what might happen.
A bit of a misconception about pole vaulting is that a lot of people are scared of flying, or they get scared of the bar. But it’s not very true, actually. And you see a lot of jumpers that have mental blocks and issues, and they have all these mental challenges.
And it almost never has anything to do with heights, and the bar, barrier or whatnot. It’s almost always the pole. There’s always a mental barrier with the poles. You go to a longer pole or a stiffer pole, especially a stiffer pole, and it’s a different feeling. It’s a new feeling, a new bend. It’s a very common problem in pole vaulting.
What is the difference between a stiffer pole and a softer pole?
It’s like a catapult. If you pull back the band and it’s a stiffer band then it’s going to shoot farther. The stiffer the pole, the more recoils and so the simplest way to explain pole vaulting, and the objective of pole vaulting, is that you’re trying to get on the stiffest pole possible, in correlation to what you weigh, to just throw you up in the air. And there’s a lot of technique, a lot of energy transfer and fluidity, a lot of things that make that happen.
Interesting, because, pole vault is one the events of track and field that attracts the attention of people.
And I think even if you don’t understand the structure of the competition – which is something I think needs to be worked on as far as presentation is concerned. But if you just look at it with the naked eyes, it’s a circus show. It’s a very beautiful act and motion. It’s very acrobatic and I think a crazy human feat. From athletics the only event that can be on its own legs is pole vaulting. If you go outside of the stadium and do an event where it’s only one event, only pole vaulting could put on a good show.
You have 25 wins in a row and for you it’s a world championship every time because the best are coming to beat you.
It’s true, especially in pole vaulting, so I do always have to be on my A game and then I’m just going to show up and I’m going to make sure that I’m ready to play when it’s time. That’s just the kind of competitor I am. And at this point too it’s like you just know what you are capable of and so you know that you don’t take anything less than what you know you can do.
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 05: Gold medalist Armand Duplantis of Sweden sets a new world record during the Men’s Pole Vault Final on day ten of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 05, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
In the future it’s possible to jump over 6.40m
Now you have the world record of 6.26m. How higher can you go?
I really don’t know. Maybe 6.40m. I think it’s possible. It feels possible, at least. I don’t really think about it that much though, honestly.
Do you think it is possible with the same kind of pole or something different?
It depends on a few factors, I guess, but the poles are very similar and pretty much the same to what they were in the past. I think now they’re maybe just a little bit better at making them more consistent. The fibreglass that I use is the same material that [Sergey] Bubka used.
I have seen that one big problem with pole vaulters is how to put the pole in the plane. I saw you at a press conference in Monte Carlo when you explained that your mother brought your poles by car because the flight company didn’t accept your poles.
It’s a big problem and it’s getting worse and worse. There are still few options that are still able to make it work. But it’s really tough. It’s really tough for your average pole vaulter, and the people that are on the verge and just trying to make it, trying to make a living, trying to go to competitions. It’s so difficult to travel. That’s a real problem.
The public doesn’t know what is in the bag and how difficult it is for you to go around.
The hardest part for me in pole vaulting is not pole vaulting but all the logistics that come with it. It’s so complicated. It’s very difficult.
The dream to become a striker like Ibrahimovic
I heard that you were also a baseball player. What other sports have you practiced?
Football. I was a striker.
You were a striker? A fan of Ibrahimovic.
Yeah, I think if we had moved to Sweden before, when I was younger, I would have played football, probably.
I have seen you with the AC Milan jersey. Are you a fan?
Yes, I do.
Sunday night after the match Milan-Roma they fired the coach live on television.
Yeah, they told me. When I was at a game in San Siro some weeks ago I felt that it was probably going to happen very soon.
They need a striker…. You never know. You are still young and can do anything.
True, even though I’m not that young anymore.
In 2025 there are three major championships; the European Indoor Athletics Championships, World Indoor Athletics Championships and the World Athletics Championships. Will you compete in the two indoor championships in March?
Just the World Indoor in China, not the European Indoor. In the summer the focus will be on the World Championships in Tokyo. It’s going to be a lot of travel, but that’s fine.
Credit: AIPS Media
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