“IT DOESN’T FEEL REAL” is how Mondo Duplantis describes the feeling of soaring over a World Record.
Then he lands, and bedlam ensues. “That’s just overflow with emotions and that’s just freaking out,” he explains.
“I guess I’ve been fortunate enough to do it several times now, but every time the feeling is kind of the same. I think [Paris] was probably an even more extreme version of the feeling too.”
That evening, the then-24-year-old was once again the final competitor in the stadium. He had won the gold with his first-try clearance at 19-8¼ (6.00) and then set an Olympic Record at 20-¼ (6.10). Afterwards he faced off with a bar no one had ever topped before, 20-6 (6.25).
Twice he missed, his knees colliding with the bar.
As he composed himself for his final effort, he says he had no problem tuning out the hoopla that came with the awards ceremony for the men’s 100 final. “If I’m being completely honest, I probably wasn’t thinking about it all that much. It’s probably thinking about my jump and just figuring out a way how I can get over this bar.
“The timing was kind of cool, I guess… I think it was… I can barely even remember.”
He spoke to his dad before the final attempt. “[We were] just trying to get the numbers right and just trying to figure out the jump, because I knew that I pretty much had to hit it close to perfect. I at least needed to be in the right spot at takeoff to be able to use the pole and jump the World Record. You have to be pretty much perfect and the rhythm on the run has to be right there.
“And so on the last one, we just tried to get all the details right. I moved the standards to 62. By the way. I haven’t seen the jump, but it would be funny if I wouldn’t have made it at 60, because we agreed on the depth of the standards to go to 60, and then I just made a last-second cut call to move it 2 more centimeters, which probably didn’t make a difference, but it just felt right in the moment.
“I usually like to try to go with my gut. And I know that he definitely supports that too. So, [I was] just trying to honestly try to be as free as I possibly could. And I think that that’s what they both wanted me to. And I actually got great advice from my mom also after the first attempt. She can always sneak in there and give sneaky…
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