Mondo Duplantis Brilliantly Gaming System to the Tune of $1.2M

Lafayette, Louisiana (KPEL) - To call Lafayette, Louisiana's Mondo Duplantis an athletic phenomenon would be a bit of understatement.

When it comes to pole vaulting, he's quite literally the best to ever do it.

Not only is he the best pole vaulter in the world, he might also be the savviest.

This past weekend, Duplantis set a yet another pole vault world record with a vault of 20 feet, 7 inches.

For doing this, he received a $100,000 from World Athletics.

That's where this gets interesting.

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Where Is Mondo Duplantis From?

Born Armand Gustav "Mondo" Duplantis in Lafayette, Louisiana, Duplantis was born and raised in Lafayette, graduating from Lafayette High in 2018.

Duplantis has dual Swedish-American citizenship though born and raised in Louisiana.

He chose to represent Sweden internationally in honor of his mother, Helena Hedlund, who is Swedish and a former heptathlete.

His father, Greg Duplantis, is a former professional pole vaulter from the U.S. and also a Lafayette High alum.

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What Records Does Mondo Duplantis Hold?

Mondo Duplantis became an Olympic champion in Tokyo 2020,held 2021, and again in Paris 2024, breaking the vault record in the Olympic finals.

Since 2020, Duplantis has set the pole vault word record a jaw dropping 12 times with the most recent being June 15, 2025 setting the new record at an astounding 20 feet, 7 inches.

He became the first man ever to break the pole vault world record indoors and outdoors.

What's interesting is, he's only competing against himself, breaking and setting new world records seemingly at will.

Not only does Duplantis earn the title of world record holder every time he breaks his own record, but he also earns $100,000 from World Athletics, a program to reward athletes for breaking records.

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(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

The thing is, there's nothing in the rules stating that athletes can't earn the money from breaking their own records, and that's where Duplantis is brilliantly cashing in...big time.

From brobible.com -

Rather than pushing to set some unbreakable record, he continually pushes the record up just .01 of a meter each time, breaking his own record and collecting $100,000 in the process like a perpetual game of pole vault Monopoly.

Don’t hate the player. Hate the game. And Mondo Duplantis clearly has the game down to a science.

Having set new pole vaulting world records 12 times since 2020, Duplantis collected $100,000 from World Athletics each time he did so to the collective 5 year total of $1.2 million dollars.

Not only are Mondo's word record achievements incredibly impressive, but equally so is his cunning.

Obviously, the money isn't the only reason Mondo keeps breaking his own records. He's a fierce competitor who's achievements will cement his legacy as the best pole vaulter to ever do it, ever.

If there's money to be made from breaking his own world records, why not make the money?

Not to mention it's great exposure for the sport every time he sets a new world record, so we're sure World Athletics doesn't mind writing him a check.

His latest world record was his second so far in 2025.

Here's to a third Mondo!

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