Armand Duplantis
The Boy Who Built Wings in His Backyard
Born Armand Gustav Duplantis on 10 November 1999 in Lafayette, Louisiana, Mondo Duplantis is a Swedish-American pole vaulter who competes for Sweden. He has broken the world record fifteen times, most recently to 6.31 metres in 2026, and won Olympic gold in Tokyo and Paris.
- 16 min listen
- Pole vaulter
- Two-time Olympic champion
- World record holder
Armand Duplantis’s full 16 min audio biography, The Boy Who Built Wings in His Backyard, is available on Lyfestori for iOS. Listen to a free preview below.
A life in brief
Armand Duplantis: life and timeline.
Most kids in Lafayette, Louisiana, had a basketball hoop in the driveway. The Duplantis children had a runway and landing pit behind the house, built by their father Greg, a former vaulter who had cleared 5.80 metres. Mondo started with a broomstick at three or four. At fifteen he chose to compete for Sweden, his mother Helena's country, and won the world youth title that summer. At twenty he broke the world record, and he has kept raising it a centimetre at a time ever since.
- 1999
Born in Lafayette
Born 10 November to Greg Duplantis, an American former pole vaulter, and Helena Hedlund, a Swedish former heptathlete and volleyball player from Avesta. His father builds a full pole vault setup in the backyard.
- 2015
Chooses Sweden
Announces in June that he will compete for Sweden; the national pole vault coach had invited his father to join the team as a coach. Weeks later, at fifteen, he wins the World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia.
- 2018
Six metres at eighteen
Graduates from Lafayette High School, wins the world under-20 title in Tampere, then clears 6.05 metres to win the European Championships in Berlin — the youngest man known to have cleared six metres.
- 2019
LSU and a world silver
Sets collegiate indoor and outdoor records in his only year at Louisiana State University, then turns professional. At the World Championships in Doha he clears 5.97 metres but takes silver behind Sam Kendricks.
- 2020
First world record
Clears 6.17 metres in Toruń, Poland, on 8 February, breaking Renaud Lavillenie's six-year-old record, and raises it to 6.18 in Glasgow a week later. In September he clears 6.15 in Rome, the highest outdoor vault in history at the time.
- 2021
Olympic champion in Tokyo
Wins Olympic gold with 6.02 metres in a stadium largely closed to spectators because of the pandemic.
- 2022
World champion
Wins the World Indoor title in Belgrade at 6.20 metres and the world outdoor title in Eugene, Oregon, with a world record of 6.21.
- 2024
Paris
Clinches a second Olympic gold at the Stade de France, then clears a world record of 6.25 metres on his final attempt on 5 August. In October he and Desiré Inglander announce their engagement.
- 2025
6.30 metres
Named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year. Breaks the record four times, ending the season with 6.30 metres to win his third world outdoor title in Tokyo in September.
- 2026
6.31 and a first defeat
Sets his fifteenth world record, 6.31 metres, in Uppsala on 12 March. His forty-event winning streak ends in Stockholm on 7 June, and he marries Desiré Inglander in the south of France that month.
Major achievements
Armand Duplantis: major achievements.
- 01
Fifteen world records
Between February 2020 and March 2026 he raised the world record from 6.17 to 6.31 metres, usually by a single centimetre at a time, and broke it at both an Olympic Games and a World Championships.
- 02
Two Olympic gold medals
He won in Tokyo in 2021 with 6.02 metres and in Paris in 2024 with a world record of 6.25 — the night he called his childhood dream.
- 03
A run of global titles
World outdoor champion in 2022, 2023 and 2025, world indoor champion in 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026 — equalling Sergey Bubka's four straight indoor titles — and European champion four times.
- 04
Forty straight wins
From August 2023 to June 2026 he won forty consecutive competitions, a streak ended by Kurtis Marschall at the Stockholm Diamond League.
- 05
Sweden's and the world's top honours
He received Sweden's Bragdguldet in 2020 and 2024, and in 2025 became Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, one of very few field-event athletes to win it.
Turning points
Armand Duplantis: defining moments.
- Early childhood
A runway behind the house
Greg Duplantis, who competed until he was thirty-four before becoming a lawyer, built a full vaulting setup in the family's backyard. Mondo copied his older brother Andreas with a broomstick, and at ten cleared 3.86 metres at a meet in California.
- 2015
Choosing Sweden
He had planned to vault for the United States. Sweden offered a way to keep his father as his coach with federation backing, and easier access to the European circuit. He announced the decision at fifteen and won the world youth title weeks later.
- 2018
Berlin, straight out of school
Weeks after high school he cleared 6.05 metres to win the European title in Berlin against the world's best. Bubka had not cleared six metres until he was twenty-one.
- February 2020
Breaking the record
He had failed repeatedly at world-record heights over two seasons. In Toruń he cleared 6.17 metres, and a week later 6.18. From then on the question was no longer whether he would win, but how high he would go.
What you’ll take away
Lessons from Armand Duplantis’s life.
- 01
Environment builds talent
A former vaulter father, a heptathlete mother and a pit behind the house made pole vaulting the family's daily language. His gift was real, but it had a runway from the age of three.
- 02
Take the record a centimetre at a time
He raises the world record by the smallest possible margin, so every centimetre becomes another chance at history. Fifteen records in six years came from that discipline.
- 03
Keep your coach close
Representing Sweden was partly a way to keep training with his father. The coaching relationship he grew up with has stayed at the centre of his career.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Armand Duplantis.
What is Armand Duplantis's full name?
Armand Gustav Duplantis. He has been called Mondo since childhood, and competes under both names.
What is Armand Duplantis's net worth?
Estimates vary widely. Celebrity-wealth and sports sites put Armand Duplantis's net worth at roughly $1 million–$10 million (CelebrityNetWorth: $1 million, 2026). Forbes and Bloomberg don't track him and no audited figure exists, so treat these as rough guesses that leave a lot of room for interpretation. What is documented: he has been sponsored by Puma since turning professional in 2019, on undisclosed terms, and at the 2025 World Championships he earned $70,000 for gold plus a $100,000 world-record bonus.
How did Armand Duplantis make his money?
Mainly from sponsorship, led by a Puma deal whose terms have never been disclosed, plus prize money and record bonuses. At the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, for example, he earned $70,000 for gold and a separate $100,000 bonus for his world record under World Athletics' record programme, and Diamond League meetings add further prize money.
When and where was Mondo Duplantis born?
On 10 November 1999 in Lafayette, Louisiana. He grew up there, attended Lafayette High School and trained on the runway his father built in the family's backyard.
Why does Armand Duplantis compete for Sweden?
Because his mother is Swedish and Sweden let him keep his father as his coach. He announced the decision in June 2015, after Sweden's national pole vault coach invited Greg Duplantis to join the team's coaching set-up.
What is Armand Duplantis's world record?
6.31 metres, set in Uppsala, Sweden, on 12 March 2026. It was his fifteenth world record; his first, 6.17 metres, came in Toruń, Poland, in February 2020.
Did Mondo Duplantis go to college?
Yes, for one year. He enrolled at Louisiana State University in 2018, set collegiate indoor and outdoor records and won the NCAA indoor title, then turned professional in 2019.
Is Armand Duplantis married?
Yes. He married the Swedish model Desiré Inglander in June 2026 in the south of France. They met in Sweden in 2020 and announced their engagement in October 2024.
Who is Mondo Duplantis's coach?
His parents. His father Greg, a former pole vaulter, has coached him since childhood, and his mother Helena, a former heptathlete, works on his conditioning.
When did Mondo Duplantis last lose?
At the London Diamond League on 17 July 2026, when a thigh injury cut his competition short and he finished second to Sam Kendricks. Six weeks earlier, Kurtis Marschall had ended his forty-meet winning streak in Stockholm.
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