Mondo Duplantis’ Latest Comment Might Cause Trouble As Lesser-Known Details Highlighted

Under the lights in Clermont-Ferrand on February 28, 2025, Mondo Duplantis soared to a new world record of 6.27m at the All-Star Perche, surpassing his previous mark of 6.26m on the first try. It was his 11th world record—a masterclass that only cemented his indoor dominance. But Duplantis wasn’t done yet. Just months later in Stockholm, he raised the bar again with a 6.28m clearance, adding a 12th world record to his name. It’s all looked effortless. But behind these record-breaking jumps, there’s a detail that’s starting to raise a few eyebrows.

On 15 June 2025, he returned to the runway at the Stockholm Diamond League, standing before a packed home crowd at the historic 1912 Olympic Stadium. With conditions ideal and momentum on his side, he took on 6.28 meters. Once again, on his first attempt, he cleared the bar—clean and decisive—setting his next world record. However, this one-centimeter progression is now drawing curious glances and a few murmurs around the sport.

Tiara Williams caught up with the Swedish star and asked the question on everyone’s mind: about his two world records this season. She questioned, “So everybody’s wondering about your bonuses? Do you get a bonus every time you break it? And does the debate just continue to grow, grow, grow every time?” Forbes reported back in August, after he won Olympic gold in the pole vault event at Paris 2024, that each athlete receives $100,000 when they break the world record. The official Diamond League regulations say “the minimum bonus awarded for breaking a World Record is US Dollars 50,000″. 

The 25-year-old answered, “Yeah, well, I mean, it’s pretty true. It’s pretty true. It’s true. I got to make a living, you know? A man’s got to make a living…And there is a bit of a glitch, you could say, whatever you want to say. For sure. But, man, I got to do what I got to do. That’s pretty much at the end of the day. Collect it, yeah. Yeah, but I see this stuff. I see this stuff a little bit.” The glitch? You see, major track meets (like Diamond League, World Champs, and Olympics) offer a $50,000 or more bonus for a world record—but only once per meeting, regardless of how many times it’s broken during that event.

Mondo exploits this by raising the bar just 1 cm above his own record at each competition. That way, he can repeatedly claim the $100K bonus across multiple meets. He also did take a jab at how the monetary scenario is in track and field, citing, “But I think that’s a good thing, you know? There’s not so many people that I guess are making an abundance of bread in track and field. And so I guess that’s a good thing that I can capitalize on things.” You can take Daniel Roberts as an example, who recently spoke out about his financial struggles.

Mondo’s comments could stir things up with the authorities. This could put pressure on World Athletics to revisit its bonus policy—perhaps by capping how often an athlete can earn payouts or requiring a minimum jump in record height. Especially now, as Duplantis has benefited significantly from the current system.

Mondo Duplantis’ earnings through the records

Mondo Duplantis has broken the men’s pole vault world record 12 times since February 2020, each time increasing it by just one centimeter. His first record came in Toruń, Poland (6.17m), followed a week later in Glasgow with 6.18m. After a two-year gap, he cleared 6.19m and 6.20m in March and July 2022, then raised it to 6.21m in early 2023. He continued with 6.22m at the Diamond League Final in Eugene in September 2023, then 6.24m in Xiamen, and 6.25m at the Paris 2024 Olympics. In the months that followed, he hit 6.26m in Silesia, 6.27m in Clermont-Ferrand, and most recently 6.28m in Stockholm in June 2025.

Out of the 12 world records, six were set at Diamond League meets and six at other top-level competitions, including the Paris Olympics and indoor meets in Poland and France. Each of the non-Diamond League records reportedly earned him $100,000, including the Olympic vault, as confirmed by Forbes. Diamond League records, under official regulations, offer a minimum of $50,000 per record.

Based on these payouts, Duplantis earned $600,000 from the six non-Diamond League records and at least $300,000 from six Diamond League appearances. In total, his 12 carefully spaced records have brought in an estimated $900,000. He is also only 25, so he has the chance to earn a lot more, especially after his career update. What are your thoughts on his strategy?