The world was a bit surprised when Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis, the best pole vaulter in the world, released his first pop song, but a year and change later, he’s proven he's just scratched the surface of his musical ambitions. To mark the release of his new single, ‘Location’, arguably his strongest effort to date, we meet Duplantis in the studio to chat songwriting, online critics and giving music his best shot
What’s more daunting than beating the world pole vaulting record? According to Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis – a guy who knows a thing or two about beating the world pole vaulting record – getting up on stage and singing one’s own song. “It’s always tough to compete, but it’s not scary in the same way,” he says. “It’s not vulnerable.”
Sufficient to say, the world was a little surprised when Duplantis, just months after claiming pole vaulting gold for Sweden at the 2024 Olympics, released his first single. ‘Bop’ was, as its name suggests, a breezy, catchy, nod-your-head type of tune and our first introduction to Duplantis the artist. Now, a year and change later, the Swedish-American athlete is proving music is more than a fleeting side hustle. Earlier this year he took to the stage for his first live performance on Carina Bergfeldt’s talkshow on Sweden’s SVT. Last week, he released his third single, ‘Location’ (arguably even more of a bop than ‘Bop’). “I still want to jump and I still want to be an athlete, but I definitely have something really strong in myself right now that’s telling me to do this and give it a real honest effort,” says Duplantis. “The only reason why I wouldn’t do it is that I’d be scared to fail.” For Duplantis, the worst possible outcome would be to feel as though he didn’t give this music thing his best shot.