All 24 years are not the same. Most are still figuring out where they are in life, but there are people like Mondo Duplantis. The pole vaulter made headlines a couple of days earlier when he broke the world record for the ninth time at the Paris Olympics. He took gold by reaching the 6.25m mark, while the silver medalist was a whopping 0.30 meters (5.95m) behind. It was as if the other competitors were playing a different sport altogether.
He’s already a two-time Olympic champion, and you could argue that he isn’t even near his peak. His record-breaking spree started in 2020 when he smashed Renaud Lavillenie’s record of 6.16m. In the next four years, he broke his own record eight times. Every time by just 1 cm.
Why Mondo Duplantis breaks his own record by just 1 cm
Now, it’s this 1 cm mark that’s interesting. Pole vaulters, like other sportsmen, receive a hefty reward from their sponsor after achieving something incredible. For every Grand Slam won in a year, tennis players are awarded handsomely and receive an even bigger paycheck for ending the year as the world number 1.
But pole vault isn’t the most lucrative sport in the world, at least not on the level of sports like golf, football, tennis, or basketball. Superstars in their fields like Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi have a net worth of more than $1 billion, while Duplantis, although just 24 years old, has earned around $5 million so far.
However, there is a loophole. At least for someone as special as Duplantis. For each time he breaks the world record, he’s awarded somewhere between $30,000 and $100,000. That is exactly the reason why he doesn’t go from 6.17 to 6.25 directly. For his Paris Olympics record-breaking jump, he received the maximum reward possible: $100,000.
He could have tried to go for another record by attempting a 6.26m jump, but that wouldn’t earn him any more money. He was asked about this before, and Duplantis answered the question honestly, saying, “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t.”
This isn’t something new in pole vault either. Another all-time great and record holder from 1984 to 2014, Sergey Bubka, broke the world record 35 times, knowing full and well what he’d get from surpassing his limit by the smallest of margins. Duplantis is merely keeping the tradition alive and earning himself a few extra dollars while he continues to rewrite history.
Mando Duplantis’ world record progression
| Mark | Date |
|---|---|
| 6.17m | February 8, 2020 |
| 6.18m | February 15, 2020 |
| 6.19m | March 7, 2022 |
| 6.20m | March 20, 2022 |
| 6.21m | July 24, 2022 |
| 6.22m | February 25, 2023 |
| 6.23m | September 17, 2023 |
| 6.24m | April 20, 2024 |
| 6.25m | August 5, 2024 |
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