Mondo Duplantis revealed on Friday that he would skip the entire 2027 indoor season and prioritize health, recovery and putting himself in the best condition to dominate in the pole vault at outdoor meets next year.
“I am making this decision to give my body the recovery and preparation it needs so that I can perform at my peak when I return to competition,” Duplantis said in a statement. “My focus will be on training well and preparing for the 2027 outdoor season, which runs from early May to the World Championships in mid-September.”
Duplantis, 26, had a strong campaign this year but encountered some struggles that would be looked at as challenging moments by his standards. He pulled out of the Diamond League final in Brussels in early September because of leg tightness. But he would later clear 6.20 meters a week later and win the title at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.
But with a season of highs and some mixed results, Duplantis was still in top form and pushed his own world record to 6.31m at the Mondo Classic in Sweden in March, his 15th record. The event will not be held next year because of his decision to sit out the indoor season.
“I have had a fantastic season this year,” Duplantis continued in his statement. “I love pole vaulting and want to continue to challenge myself to reach even greater heights, but it has also been a season with an overly demanding competition schedule during the summer. I had far too much to do last year and not enough time to prepare for the intense competition schedule.”
The busy year also included his wedding to Desiré Inglander in the South of France in June, just days after a surprising loss to Kurtis Marschall at the Stockholm Diamond League meeting, snapping a three-year unbeaten streak.
Duplantis would skip the Oslo Diamond League event says later because of the wedding but rebounded with a 6.13m leap to win in Paris later that month.
Meanwhile, at the London Diamond League meeting, he would only clear 5.95m and pull out of the competition with tightness in his tight, finishing second.
Still, the season could be looked at as largely a successful run, with 12 wins in 14 competitions, which also included another European title.
But his absence from the circuit next year will be noticeable and Duplantis will also not lead Sweden’s national team at the European Indoor Championships in Valencia next March. The outdoor season typically begins in late April, with many athletes ramping up their competition schedules in May.
