World
WATCH: Mondo Duplantis sets world record, wins gold medal in Olympic pole vault final
On Monday, Sweden’s Armand “Mondo” Duplantis won the gold medal in the pole vault at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In the triumph, Duplantis shattered his own world record, recording a 6.25-meter clear.
Duplantis was born in Louisiana. His father, who is an American, was a pole vaulter as well. However, his mother is from Sweden and is a former heptathlete and volleyball player. Duplantis competes for his mother’s home country, Sweden.
Duplantis was the heavy favorite entering the 2024 Olympics. He was the gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Moreover, Duplantis took home first-place finishes at the indoor and outdoor World Championships (2022, 2023) and is the current Diamond League champion.
Duplantis entered the 2024 Olympics holding world records in both the indoor (6.22 meters) and outdoor (6.24 meters) pole vault events. In 2022, Duplantis was crowned both European and World Male Athlete of the Year.
Now, Mondo Duplantis has another accolade to add to his illustrious resume. Sweden now boasts three gold medals at the 2024 Olympic Games and eight medals total.
Noah Lyles takes home 100m gold at 2024 Paris Olympics
Duplantis isn’t the only Olympian making history. On Sunday, American sprinter Noah Lyles won his first Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter dash, succeeding Italy’s Marcell Jacobs who took home first place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Lyles posted a 9.79-second time in the event — five-thousandths of a second faster than Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, who finished second in the event. United States’ Fred Kerleyfollowed closely behind, securing a bronze medal.
Lyles is the first American to win gold in the 100m race since Justin Gatlin in 2004. Lyles entered the 2024 Paris Olympics as the favorite in the event after winning the 2023 World Championship. However, following a subpar lead-up to the final, the narrative began to shift.
Lyles blocked out the noise and delivered a single message after his victory to all the viewers back home, cheering him on: “America, I told you. I got this.”
The 100m gold medal is only the latest accolade in Lyles’ resume. He also hauled in the bronze medal in the 200-meter dash at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After his slow start in Paris, Lyles warned fans to not give up on him.
“It wasn’t tougher,” Lyles said. “I was more expecting that they would just fall in line, and they didn’t, they took it as ‘I got one shot and I’m going to take it.’ And to be honest, I should have expected that knowing that this is the Olympics. But this is my first time in an Olympic 100. I didn’t. That’s on me, and I won’t let that happen again.”
Lyles followed through on his promise and properly celebrated following his triumph. He isn’t done yet, either. The 27-year-old standout will also compete in the 200m dash and the 4x100m relay.