Mondo Duplantis holds just about every record in the pole vault imaginable. However, the 25-year-old better watch his back for Matvey Strogalev.
The 12-year-old Ukrainian phenom is coming for his crown!
Even though Duplantis is already one of the greatest track and field athletes of all-time, there is nobody to challenge him. None of his competitors can keep pace with his monster vaults. They are all battling for second place. The only way Duplantis will lose is if he beats himself.
As a result, the Swedish pole vaulter continuously breaks his own world record by a very small margin just to keep things interesting. His ingenious hack has also made him very rich. Duplantis scammed World Athletics out of another $100,000 check in his home country over the weekend. It was electric!
There is no telling just how long Mondo Duplantis is going to be able to keep this up but he does not show any signs of slowing down any time soon. He might finally meet his match if he can stay competitive for another 8-10 years or so.
Matvey Strogalev recently broke one of Duplantis’ many youth records at the Ukrainian Youth Athletic Championship in Liviv with a height of 4.00 meters. The Swedish pole vaulter jumped “only” 3.97 meters when he was of the same age in 2012.
Matvey Strogalev’s mother was a silver medalist in pole vault at the 1999 World Championships and a European champion. His father was a finalist at the World Championships and an Olympian. His slightly older brother is a finalist at the World Junior Championships.
Strogalev became the (unofficially official) 12-year-old world record holder on this jump:
Here’s another look:
Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh showed the video to Mondo Duplantis. He can’t wait to go head-to-head with Strogalev in a few years!
This is incredible. Yaroslava Mahuchikh showed me the video. I was really happy to see it. I was once that young, eager to become the best in the world. I wanted to be the best and break timeless records. And he is like that, maybe even a little better. I hope he keeps progressing. And maybe, if I keep vaulting long enough, we’ll compete against each other.
— Mondo Duplantis, via Suspilne
The sport runs through the Strogalevs’ blood just like the legendary Duplantis family. It would be very fun if, one day, Mondo paces the crown to Matvey.