‘He said if I break the world record we can party’: Mondo Duplantis sets Usain Bolt meet after 12th pole vault WR in Stockholm

While he had promised fans ahead of the competition that he would try break his record yet again and encouraged the crowd to egg him on, the 25-year-old Duplantis had a little bit of extra motivation after meeting sprint legend Usain Bolt ahead of the event.

Having promised fans ahead of the competition that he would try to break the record, Duplantis encouraged the crowd to get behind him from the moment his name was announced at the Swedish capital’s Olympic stadium, and they responded by wildly clapping and cheering his every attempt as he cruised through the competition.

Breaking the world record yet again meant Duplantis was slated for a fun night with Bolt, who still holds the world records for the 100m and 200m sprints.

“For me it’s pretty cool, actually,” Duplantis told Swedish broadcaster SVT. “He said if I break the world record we can party tonight, so I’m sure it’s going to be a fun night with him, but I’m just so happy.”

SO MUCH AURA ⚡️

The fastest man alive, Usain Bolt, and the highest vaulter in history, Mondo Duplantis, embracing at the Stockholm Diamond League.

📸 Thomas Windestam pic.twitter.com/OoqwTFk5uS

— Owen (@_OwenM_) June 15, 2025

Bolt watched Thursday’s Diamond League event in Oslo before taking a train to Stockholm where he said he planned to try out the nightlife.

But the two track and field stars may not be alone as Duplantis had a slew of family members in attendance in Stockholm to see him break the record for the 12th time.

“There were so many of them, it took me 10 minutes to hug them all!” Duplantis joked. “My two brothers, my mother, my grandmother and my grandfather. It’s been a few years since they had been to a competition to see me. They battled to be here.

“My grandma, she wanted me to promise yesterday that I would break the world record today, so I had a lot of pressure on me to do that in front of her, and I’m glad that I could do it for her,” he added.

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— media sport (@sportnmedia2) June 15, 2025

Australia’s Kurtis Marschall attempted to hand Duplantis a stiff challenge at 5.90m before failing at three attempts to clear six metres.

Powering through his run-up before planting his pole and soaring to another world record before his home crowd, the stadium, built for the 1912 Olympics, exploded in jubilation.

“This was one of my biggest goals and dreams, to set a world record here at Stadion. It’s like the Olympics and Stadion, they’re the same level for me. I really wanted to do it, I had my whole family here, from both sides, it’s magic, it’s magic,” he said after tearing off his singlet to celebrate with his family.

“Every time I broke the world record, I felt it in my first jump that ‘this could be the day’, but today it felt a little tougher. It didn’t feel that natural from the beginning, it didn’t feel great in my legs, but I only needed one (try),” an emotional Duplantis added.

Duplantis’ pole vault wor record timeline

2020 – 6.17m
2020 – 6.18m
2022 – 6.19m
2022 – 6.20m
2022 – 6.21m
2023 – 6.22m
2023 – 6.23m
2024 – 6.24m
2024 – 6.25m
2024 – 6.26m
2025 – 6.27m
2025 – 6.28m

– With Reuters inputs