Mondo and the Challengers … or the Rest

No event in international athletics has as undisputed a frontrunner as men’s pole vault. Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis is the undisputed king of the event and has already set a world record this year. He was also named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for 2024.

The Laureus awards for best male and female athlete are considered among the most prestigious honours an athlete can receive, and Usain Bolt is the only track and field athlete to have previously won the award. Duplantis received it based on achievements including Olympic gold in Paris and three new world records over the year.

At the Wanda Diamond League meet at Bislett, there may be new record attempts, as a star-studded field also hunts more six-meter clearances.

Four of the confirmed athletes for Bislett have already cleared that.

Mondo, of course, is in a league of his own, with his world record of 6.27 from February and the eleven highest jumps in the history of the sport, improving the World record one centimetre at a time from 6.17 to 6.27.

But it’s also exciting to follow Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who could soon become only the fourth man in history to clear 6.10, after Mondo, France’s Renaud Lavillenie, and the former legend Sergey Bubka. At last weekend’s Diamond League meet in Shanghai Keqiao, he attempted 6.11 after clearing 6.01 on his first try.

Norway’s own Sondre Guttormsen had to skip the events in China due to a minor leg injury but is expected to be back in good shape well ahead of the Bislett Games. Alongside American Sam Kendricks, who has a personal best of 6.06, Sondre is one of the four in the field who have cleared six meters, with his 6.00 jump from Albuquerque in 2023.

A height that both the Dutchman Menno Vloon, who won the indoor European Championships on home soil this winter, and the Australian Kurtis Marschall hope to become the thirtieth in the world to clear.

Further behind, Sondre’s younger brother, Simen Guttormsen, is chasing new heights as well. He currently has a personal best of 5.72, just ten centimetres short of the standard for this year’s World Championships in Tokyo, a goal that should be well within reach.

Preliminary startlist
Mondo Duplantis, SWE
Sam Kendricks, USA
Emmanouil Karalis, GRE
Ersu Sasma, TUR
Kurtis Marschall, AUS
Sondre Guttormsen, NOR
Simen Guttormsen, NOR