Armand "Mondo" Duplantis continues to turn pole vaulting into a competition primarily with himself.
At the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, the Swedish superstar jumper claimed his fourth consecutive European outdoor title. He secured the victory with a jump of 6,15 meters, simultaneously setting a new European Championship record.
The final took place on August 16 at Alexander Stadium. Duplantis' main rival was Greek athlete Emmanouil Karalis — one of the few athletes in the world today capable of even coming close to Mondo's heights. Karalis cleared 6,00 meters, but subsequent attempts were unsuccessful. He took silver, while Frenchman Baptiste Thiery won bronze with a result of 5,85 meters.
But for Duplantis, a single victory was not enough.
First, he cleared 6,10 meters, matching the bar of his own championship record set two years earlier in Rome. Then the Swede raised it even higher — to 6,15 — and succeeded again on his first attempt.
Thus, the European title became another page in his own book of records.
For Duplantis, this is his fourth consecutive European Championship gold: he won the tournament in 2018, 2022, 2024, and now in 2026. After the final, the athlete himself admitted that four consecutive victories seem almost incredible to him and that he tries not to take such successes for granted.
This is exactly what makes Mondo special: he has long been in a position where simply winning is no longer enough to surprise the public.
In every one of his starts, a different question arises: how high will he jump today?
Before the World Athletics Championships, his world record already stood at 6,31 meters, set in March 2026. After the victory in Birmingham, the spectators were waiting for another attack on the world record, but this time Duplantis decided to stop after 6,15. (Olympic Games)
This season, his preparation was not entirely smooth. A few weeks before the championship, he withdrew from the competition in London as a precaution, so Duplantis himself called his performance in Birmingham a certain test. That made the gold all the more valuable to him.
In recent years, Mondo has changed the very perception of pole vaulting.
Heights that seemed almost fantastic until recently have become part of an ordinary evening when he performs. A bar above six meters no longer looks like a final miracle — for Duplantis, it is often just the beginning of the real show.
And yet, in Birmingham, the main thing was not another world record.
Four European Championships — four consecutive golds.
While other athletes try to get closer to him, Duplantis continues to raise the bar, both literally and figuratively.
And it seems that Mondo's most dangerous rival is still the same one.
It is the height he has not yet cleared.
