TIGER RAG NEWS SERVICES
Former LSU pole vaulting superstar Armand “Mondo” Duplantis of Lafayette experienced something different on Sunday.
He lost.
Duplantis, representing Sweden as he has dual citizenship there and in the United States, lost for the first time since July of 2023 in Monaco when he fell to Kurtis Marschall of Australia at a Diamond League meet in Stockholm, Sweden, on Sunday. He had won 40 straight times.
Duplantis, who was the NCAA indoor pole vault champion and the first first collegian to clear 6.00 meters while at LSU in 2019, cleared 5.80 meters on Sunday. But he failed twice at 6.00 meters and once at 6.05 in his first outdoor event of the year. Marschall won with a vault of 5.90.
“I felt a bit unfocused today,” Duplantis told reporters. “I really did not want to lose here in front of my family and fans. I have not lost in three years. But hats off to Kurtis today. He beat me fair and square. I have no excuses.”
Duplantis, 26, just set a world record last March 12 with a leap of 20 feet and 8.5 inches in his own Mondo Classic in Uppsala, Sweden. He has broken the pole vaulting world record 15 times since February of 2020 – more than any pole vaulter in history.
“I did not mean to spoil the show,” Marschall said. “But I am so delighted with the win.”
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