National High School Records Through the Years

Photo by John Nepolitan

Boys Outdoor Record – Pole vault

Mondo Duplantis (Lafayette, Louisiana)

Performances – 19-6 ¼, 19-8 ¼ and 19-10 ¼ 

Date – August 12, 2018

Place – Berlin, Germany

Meet – European Championships

Previous Record – 19-5 ½ by Duplantis May 5, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana 

In an extraordinary moment, an American high school athlete won a European championship, believed to be the only time that has ever happened. The athlete in question, Mondo Duplantis, has gone on to be the greatest pole vaulter in world history. Although he was born and raised in the United States, he had always intended to represent his mother’s homeland, Sweden, internationally, thus he did so at the 2018 Euros in Berlin. Competing against a spectacular field of veterans that included the reigning world recordholder, Renaud Lavillenie of France, the 18-year-old wunderkind from Louisiana – the son of a famed pole vaulter in his own right, Greg Duplantis – raised his own national high school record not once, not twice, but three times, finally passing at 20 feet. He also joined the rarefied 6-meter club, clearing 6.00 and 6.05. In an another oddity, another American high school athlete was also in the competition, as Sondre Guttormsen, of California, finished sixth (18-10 ¼) representing his own Scandinavian homeland of Norway. Guttormsen went on to represent several American colleges and win an NCAA championship; Duplantis vaulted for one season for LSU before becoming multiple Olympic champion for Sweden. Not surprisingly, Duplantis completed his high school career with class records as a freshman (17-4 ½), sophomore (18-1), junior (19-4 ¼) and senior (19-10 ¼). He has since won three more European championships. In this competition, seven years ago this week, he had just one miss, at 19-0 ¼, making all of his other clearances on his first attempt. Lavillenie finished 3rd, at 19-6 ¼.  

National High School Records Through the Years appears once a week, compiled and written by a track historian, Jack Pfeifer (Lake Oswego, Oregon). Inquiries may be directed to him by email (jack.pfeifer@gmail.com).    

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