Mondo Duplantis celebrates world record pole vault with girlfriend at Olympics in a viral moment

Swedish pole vaulter Armand "Mondo" Duplantis set a new world record at the Paris Olympics, clearing 6.25 meters in the men’s pole vault final to win the gold medal at Stade de France on Monday, August 5. Duplantis celebrated his victory with a heartfelt moment, embracing and kissing his girlfriend, Desire Inglander, who captured and shared the moment on Instagram.

Duplantis, 24, was seen running to Inglander, who was in tears after his triumph, and the two shared a kiss as onlookers cheered. Inglander, a fashion model, posted a video of the winning moment, writing, “forever your biggest fan,” which Duplantis later reshared on his Instagram Stories.

The Lafayette, Louisiana native soared above the chord line, securing the top spot on the podium. Team USA’s Sam Kendricks took silver, clearing 5.95 meters, while Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis won bronze with a height of 5.90 meters.

"What can I say? I just broke a world record at the Olympics, the biggest possible stage for a pole vaulter,” Duplantis told reporters, according to Olympics.com. “[My] biggest dream since a kid was to break the world record at the Olympics, and I’ve been able to do that in front of the most ridiculous crowd I’ve ever competed in front of.”

Reflecting on the moment, Duplantis added, "I haven’t processed how fantastic that moment was. It’s one of those things that don’t really feel real, such an out-of-body experience."

This achievement marks the ninth time Duplantis has broken the world record. He previously set a record at the Xiamen Diamond League in April. Ahead of his record-breaking jump, Duplantis focused on clearing his thoughts and tuning out the chants of “Mondo” from the crowd. "The crowd was going crazy,” he said. “It was so loud in there, it sounded like an American football game."

“[I was] just trying to channel the energy everybody was giving me, and they were giving me a lot of it,” Duplantis added. “It worked out.”