For years, the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award had one name echoing from the track world: Usain Bolt. After all, Lightning Bolt has claimed the title four times, the last being in 2017. Since then, what followed was a period of unchallenged dominance. But this all changes in 2025 as a new king of track and field has arrived. His name? Mondo Duplantis. His feats? Rewriting the very fabric of what’s possible in pole vault. But for him, the records weren’t enough. So what’s next? Well, clinching the Laureus title, perhaps.

And let’s be honest. It was overdue. If there’s one athlete who’s turned a niche event into pure, can’t-miss theater, it’s Mondo. Every runway approach is a suspense thriller, every vault a jaw-dropper. After soaring to Olympic gold in Paris and breaking yet another world record at 6.25 meters, he wasn’t just flirting with greatness. He was defining it. In a year packed with icons like Carlos Alcaraz and Max Verstappen, names with stellar resumes, it was Duplantis who emerged above them all.

And just like that, the 25-year-old carried forward an 8-year-old track and field legacy that even the sport’s biggest current stars couldn’t reclaim. European Athletics took to X with the kind of post that didn’t need much exaggeration. “Yet another trophy for Armand Duplantis! 💫 Armand Duplantis 🇸🇪 is crowned Laureus World Sportsman of the Year! 🏆 And he becomes only the second male athlete to win this award after Usain Bolt! 🐐”

https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1914614025582789062

That’s not just history. It’s legacy. But let’s be real, when one man from the field side of track and field is the only athlete in eight years to pull the sport back into the Laureus spotlight, it begs a tough question: where are the current track stars? Duplantis now stands shoulder to shoulder with Bolt in the Laureus books, and while their specialties couldn’t be more different, their impact is strikingly similar domination with records rewritten and the kind of showmanship that keeps fans glued to every moment.

Mondo Duplantis isn’t just the king of the air. He’s now, officially, the best in the world, period. This honor comes hot on the heels of his latest feat back in March, when he made gravity look optional once again. At the All-Star Perche in Clermont-Ferrand, France, he soared to 6.27 meters, breaking his own world record for the 11th time. Let that sink in.

And he did it with the kind of effortlessness that almost feels unfair. He cleared each bar. 5.65 m, 5.91m, 6.02m, and 6.07 m on his very first try, like it was a warmup. No stress, just straight dominance. And even with a field full of hungry challengers, nobody could touch him. Emmanouil Karalis gave it everything and set a new national record for Greece at 6.02m. Impressive?

Absolutely. But Mondo wasn’t even in the same conversation. He was rewriting it. With the win already secured, he didn’t stop. He raised the bar a full 20 centimeters just because he could. And then? He cleared it on the first attempt. Game, set, and fireworks. The crowd went wild, and honestly, how could they not? They weren’t just watching a pole vaulter. They were witnessing the making of a living legend.

“I Came Here to Do It”: Mondo Duplantis has redefined what greatness looks like

On February 28th at the 2025 All-Star Perche in Clermont-Ferrand, Armand Duplantis once again turned an elite pole vault competition into a front-row seat to history. With a packed crowd hanging onto every second, the Olympic champ soared to an unbelievable 6.27 meters. And let’s be real, no one was exactly shocked. Stunned, maybe. But not surprised. It’s what we’ve come to expect from Mondo.

Jaw-dropping brilliance. Still, even he couldn’t deny how good it felt. When asked about it after the competition, the 25-year-old let his confidence shine, “I just felt really good… What can I say? I came here to do it. I put everything in place to do it. The run-up worked really well. I just did it.” And just like that, another chapter was written. But pole vaulting isn’t the only thing Mondo had in his bag that night.

In a twist nobody saw coming, Duplantis made his debut in the music world. Dropping a track called ‘Bop’ on the same day as his record-breaking performance. And the moment he cleared that historic bar? His song started blasting through the stadium. Talk about main-character energy. It wasn’t just a vault; it was a full-blown moment.

Mondo’s transition from world-class athlete to potential chart-topper might seem unexpected, but if anyone can launch a music career mid-flight, it’s him. At this stage, the conversation isn’t about whether Mondo will break another record. Every performance feels like another inevitable step in his storybook rise. The scary part? He’s only 25, and already, his legacy is stacking up faster than we can keep track.

What we’re witnessing isn’t just dominance. It’s a new definition of what it means to be great. Whether it’s soaring over impossible heights or dropping beats to celebrate the moment, Mondo Duplantis is proving that limits don’t apply to him. So, fans of Usain Bolt, get ready. Because if you thought that Usain Bolt is the only guy who could do it, then you’re about to see what Mondo is capable of.