Duplantis unfazed by lateness of world championships in Tokyo
Pole vaulter Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis insisted on Thursday he was unfazed by the lateness of the world championships in Tokyo, the September 13-21 event bringing the curtain down on a grueling season.
The championships are generally held in August, with the exception of the 2019 edition in Doha, where it was pushed back to the last week of September in a bid to beat the suffocating heat in the Gulf state.
The 2027 world championships in Beijing will also be held in September.
But the unflappable double Olympic champion, speaking in Monaco ahead of Friday's Diamond League meet, the 10th of the 15-meet elite circuit, put any fears of burnout in what is one of track and field's toughest events to one side.
"I usually get better as the season goes on," maintained Duplantis, calling the worlds the "peak".
"I've had a lot of my best competitions in September, in the middle of September, like when we're going to have the world championships."
The worlds, Duplantis added, were a "super physical event".
"You have to be physically primed. But also it's very technical, and it's very specific timing that you have to have in feeling with the pole. So competitions are very necessary, and you need that to be really sharp and on point on everything.
"So I still have a nice series of competitions leading up to it, but of course I want the peak to be Tokyo," he said, adding he would take four weeks off after Monaco before refocusing on the latter end of the season.
Duplantis, with 39 Diamond League victories to his name, finished fourth and second in his two previous outings in Monaco, something the ultimate competitor was fully aware of.
"I feel like I have a little something bubbling to prove here," said the 25-year-old, adding he would be targeting the meet record of 6.02 meters at the Stade Louis II. "I want to have every meeting record, I guess, and I feel that this is one of the ones that is missing."
Wherever and whenever Duplantis competes, the weight of expectation is for another tilt at a world record.
That currently stands at 6.28 meters, Duplantis having delighted a home crowd in Stockholm three weeks ago, the 12th time he has improved the world record.
Duplantis insisted, however, that improving that mark was always a factor he took into consideration.
"I take what the day gives me because I feel like when I'm in good shape and everything lines up, I have good conditions and a lot of the controllables from my side line up, I have the confidence that I'm capable of it on the given day if the form's there," he said.
"I feel like right now I'm jumping quite well. Of course I proved that a couple of weeks ago and just recently I've been jumping really high.
"If it's good conditions and I feel good physically and feel like I have a good rhythm on the runway then I feel like I go into almost every competition with that mentality that I'm trying to at least attempt or push the world record. It will be no different tomorrow."
Duplantis said his approach to vaulting was simple and not overly technical.
"I'm just trying to incorporate as much speed as I possibly can, while still being able to control the last few steps before take-off and still be in the position and still be able to control it.
"I just really try to hammer the run and the takeoff. Everything that happens after that, it's super specific, but it's kind of like riding a bicycle."
© 2025 AFP
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