Mondo's Streak Snapped
Pole Vault Star Duplantis's 40-Win Streak Ends, Finishes Second at Stockholm Diamond League
Pole vault Olympic champion Armand “Mondo” Duplantis suffered his first defeat in nearly three years at the Stockholm Diamond League, finishing second behind Australia’s Kurtis Marschall after missing multiple attempts at 6.00m and 6.05m. Marschall won on 5.90m with a third-attempt clearance, while Duplantis managed 5.80m at a meet where he had previously been near unbeatable. The loss snapped Duplantis’s run of 40 consecutive victories and ended a streak that stretched back to July 2023, during which he repeatedly improved the world record and secured major titles including Olympic gold at Paris 2024. Reuters reported that Duplantis, who said he had one eye on an upcoming wedding, had been targeting a world record mark of 6.31m but got off to a bad start and never found his rhythm. Other events at the same meet included a women’s 100m win for Melissa Jefferson Wooden in 10.84 and a men’s 200m victory for Kenny Bednarek in 19.87. A post-race interview captured Duplantis reflecting on the unusual result and what it could mean for future performances in Stockholm.
Key Points
Duplantis’s day unraveled early: after a first-attempt failure at 5.60m, he cleared 5.60m on the second attempt but never got fully “back on track,” ultimately missing twice at 6.00m and once at 6.05m.
The podium behind Duplantis included France’s Baptiste Thiery, who also cleared 5.80m to take third place.
Duplantis, speaking to Swedish broadcaster SVT, said: “It was time to lose… it’s also sick that I lose in Stockholm,” and added, “This is not the last time I will lose, but I hope it’s the last time I lose in Stockholm… I’m going to make sure of that.” He also framed the wedding timing as a factor—“You’re either lucky in love or lucky in life.”
Stockholm Olympic Stadium has been a breakthrough venue for him: last year, Duplantis set the world record there for a 12th time. More broadly, Reuters-style context from the coverage notes his world-record progression during the streak, improving from 6.23m to 6.31m through 10 world-record performances.
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