'You've Taught Me To Dare To Set High Goals'

By Helena Duplantis

Dear Mondo! 

To this day, I clearly remember the last weeks of my pregnancy with you. I was anxiously waiting for your November 6th due date. It was hard for me, moving around like a walrus, to keep up with two hyperactive 3- and 6-year-old boys. While bringing the boys trick-or-treating that fall, I was hoping you would play a trick on me and treat me with the relief of popping out earlier than the actual due date. We have a saying in Sweden, “den som väntar på något gott väntar aldrig för länge”, meaning, he who waits for something good never waits too long. That was surely the case with you. 

Whether a boy or a girl, I wanted to honor my Swedish heritage in your name. Your due date was on King Gustavus Adolphus Day, and on that day the memory of King Gustavus Adolphus is celebrated in Sweden. 

On November 10, 1999, a couple of days past the due date, you decided to arrive into this world and you became our third Duplantis boy. In honor of both your French and Swedish heritage, we named you Armand Gustav.

Ever since you were able to walk, you played with your brothers as though you were the same age as them. You acted like the age difference was totally insignificant. You were determined to physically grow up quickly, as to not miss out on any activities with your older brothers. Although you loved trying to hang with your brothers, your favorite adventures seemed to always involve something in the air. The higher the better. I cannot count the times I saw you swinging on our backyard rope or climbing high into a tree. I guess you were truly “Born To Fly.”

Even at a very young age, you were an independent little soul. We had to put extra key locks on the doors to keep you from sneaking out of the house. You just did not want to miss any of the fun that was taking place in the neighborhood.

Already at the age of 3, you were trying to follow in both your brothers’ pole-vaulting footsteps. Your creative mind determined quickly that the soft fabric-covered ottoman in our living room together with a broken broomstick would allow you to pole vault just like your brothers did. You practiced so much that you wore out the ottoman. That is also when one of your record streaks started, the most stitches in the family.

By age 4, you graduated from the ottoman to participating in backyard pole vault practice sessions with your brothers. You were not intimidated one bit by the fact that you could barely vault onto the pit.

I had never seen anyone so focused, intense and determined at such a young age. Your expectations to perform a technically perfect jump were unreal. The tantrums and sheer rage just from not clearing a crossbar were honestly too much for me at times. I started watching you pole vault through the kitchen window more and more in order not to hear your frustrated yelling by the pole-vault pit.

To be honest, I did not feel it was natural to be such a perfectionist at that young age. I now realize that quality is one of the reasons you are such a successful athlete today.

Your competitiveness at a very young age was also something that I would not describe as normal. You truly hated to lose and to this day you still do. It does not matter if you are playing soccer, baseball, a card game, golf, or tiddlywinks; you always play to win!

Not only are you very competitive, but you would never give up. I remember the hurdle race in middle school when you fell on the ground after tripping on the first hurdle — you jumped up like a cat — caught other guys, and won the race!

Early in your organized sporting life you played baseball and soccer. It was a joy to watch you participate in any sport, always with such passion and heart. The thing that has made me proudest was your sportsmanship and how you handled yourself on and off the field.

In high school, I became part of your athletic life in more ways than just driving you to and from practices and games. I joined “Team Duplantis” as your strength and conditioning coach along with your dad, the technical coach.

At the age of 17, you competed in your first Diamond League Track & Field meet — a big step into the world of elite competition. But just like you had done as a little boy trying to play with your older brothers, you immediately battled like you belonged with the other guys on the Diamond League circuit.

That first Diamond League meet (2017 Prefontaine Classic) was not only your breakthrough into the elite level, but also the start of my dream job. As your conditioning coach, I now got to travel with you to training camps and competitions. It is hard to believe I get to be part of this amazing track and field journey. Every now and then, I must pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming.

The most exciting and enjoyable track meet for me was the European Championships in Berlin in 2018. Not only did you clear the magical 6-meter mark for the first time, but you achieved three personal bests and won the competition! That final in Berlin was such a thrilling competition it rewrote the history books. It took the highest marks ever to earn a medal.

In February of 2020, you achieved another milestone in your career: THE WORLD RECORD! It was only you and I at the competition in Toruń, Poland; dad was back in the U.S. working. Your jumping looked flawless and effortless that day. I sent videos of every jump to dad. Your dad texted me before your second attempt at the world record: “If he moves this pole, he will break the world record today.”

Then everything happened so fast, and it looked so easy, I had to wonder — Was this really the world record??? 

Seeing you break the world record was the most surreal and wonderful feeling I have ever experienced. My heart was beating out of my chest. I kept asking myself did this really happen? Watching your pole vault friends lift you up in the air and carry you on their shoulders made my heart swell and brought tears to my eyes. It was an indescribable feeling and one I had never felt before as a mom or a coach. It was a special mixture of feeling proud and elated. My whole body was covered in goosebumps. 

The 2020 season could not have started better, and in an Olympic Year at that. Little did we know the world was about to get so much more complicated. A global pandemic brought your magnificent season to a screeching halt. You went from a world record-setting season to, suddenly, no travel, no meets, not even a place to train. Your lifelong dream, competing in the Olympics, was postponed. And you were so ready to show the world who you were! My feelings of elation quickly changed to sadness, concern, frustration. 

Eventually, a very different Olympics took place in 2021, one with many stifling COVID-19 related restrictions. The pressure and expectations seemed more extreme with the one-year delay. It seemed everybody expected you to win the gold medal with ease in Tokyo. But we were very grateful that an Olympics was even happening.

It felt like we had waited forever for the Olympic final to come. But the day you had waited for your whole life was finally here!  Your smooth yet powerful warm-up made me feel very comfortable. You looked calm, focused and physically very ready for the challenge. It looked like nothing could stop you during the competition.

After you secured the gold medal, it was another dream-like moment for me. The whole family was supposed to be there for this momentous event. I was briefly a bit somber that some members of the family had to miss out on seeing it in person, but at the same time thankful dad and I could be there.

I was so looking forward to watching the medal ceremony the following day. But as you know, the taxi driver took me to the wrong arena at first and by the time we had made it to the stadium I just missed the medal ceremony. Few things make me cry, but that did. No pressure, but do you think you can repeat your performance at the next Olympics?? I really would like to be at the medal ceremony in person…!

I am so proud of the way you achieve your high reaching goals and handle success. As a mother, you have taught me so much about how to maximize my potential. You’ve taught me to dare to set high goals, believe in myself, step out of my comfort zone, and to not be afraid of the unknown. I love how you stay true to who you are, the same Mondo as always, humble and treating people with respect.

But most important of all, I love you and the person you have become.