Mondo Duplantis has clarified whether he will be open to challenging Femke Bol and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to a race after obliterating Karsten Warholm.
Swedish pole vault sensation Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis, widely regarded as the greatest pole vaulter of all time, has revealed that he is open to tackling new challenges
This comes just over a week after he impressively defeated Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm in a head-to-head 100-meter race in Switzerland.
In the race held a little over a week ago, Duplantis clocked an impressive 10.37 seconds, leading from the start and holding off Warholm, who finished in 10.47 seconds. Both athletes achieved personal bests in the sprint.
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Despite his prowess in pole vaulting, where he has broken the world record 10 times, Duplantis hinted at the possibility of future challenges, including potentially racing against some of the top athletes in track and field, such as Femke Bol and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, in a flat 400-meter race.
“I really do not, honestly. It took a lot more out of me than I thought it would," Duplantis admitted, referencing the idea of racing Bol.
"A 400 meters against Femke Bol? That would be kind of nice, but I have never run a 400 and never ran past like 150 meters, so it would probably be pretty tough,” he joked during a press conference at the Brussels Diamond League event on Thursday.
While the prospect of a 400-meter race intrigues him, Duplantis emphasized that it's not something on his immediate to-do list. Instead, his primary focus remains on continuing to excel in his specialist event where he has cemented legendary status at the age of 24.
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"I am pretty open to whatever, but I am a pole vaulter at the end of the day, and I think that is what I am actually decent at. The other things I am not as good at as pole vaulting, so I will probably stick to that,” he said with a smile.
Reflecting on his recent victory over Warholm, Duplantis expressed satisfaction in stepping outside his comfort zone but made it clear that he intends to continue pushing boundaries in the pole vault.
“I did my thing, I won, and that is a nice feeling I want to end on—on top,” Duplantis concluded.
The buzz surrounding Duplantis' 100-meter exhibition win in Zurich also made waves, as the pole vaulter revealed that he didn’t drastically alter his routine to prepare for the race.
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"Honestly, I don’t pole vault all that much in training anyway,” Duplantis said. “I usually train more like a sprinter. Before the race, I just tried to relax a bit more and focus on the first phase, and I think that worked out because I actually got out pretty well."