The familiar script called for a routine ending for Mondo Duplantis in Stockholm on Sunday. It also called for him to include a light tease of another world record height.
Duplantis might have missed the final few pages during the read-through and Kurtis Marschall snatched up his own chance at pole vault glory as he leaped 5.90m, got his first Diamond League win and relished an unexpected victory.
But there’s was no controversy or question about the result in the men’s pole vault. Duplantis exposed a rare glitch in his arsenal, before a home crowd no less, and failed to clear critical jumps at 6.00m and 6.05m and was stuck at 5.80m while Marschall pressed forward.
When it was over, Marschall won with a 5.90m jump as Duplantis settled for a rare second place designation that snapped a 40-meet unbeaten streak that Duplantis had extended since July 2023 in Monaco.
In the nearly three years since his last loss, Duplantis racked up ten world records, beating his own mark repeatedly to a point where each subsequent meeting was a question of would he push himself even higher.
On Sunday, he seemed to just want to know how it was conceivable to take a step down after devoting so much time to one direction: up.
“I felt a bit unfocused today and I really did not want to lose here in front of my family and fans,” Duplantis said. “I have not lost in what three years? But hats off to Kurtis today who beat me fair and square and I have no excuses.”
Duplantis will likely pick his match apart carefully before competing again, but a series of late blunders gave Marschall an easier runway to take the win.
At 5.80m, Duplantis and Marschall cleared the heights with ease on their first jumps, with Duplantis passing on 5.90m. Marschall got over the bar at 5.90m on this last attempt, forcing both to continue competing while Baptiste Thiery retired 5.80m and eventually took third overall.
With two failures at 6.00m, Duplantis put his fate in pushing the bar higher at 6.05m as Marschall waited to see what would unfold. On his final attempt, Duplantis knocked the bar, failed at 6.05m and Marschall — who skipped a chance at 6.00m — grabbed the win.
“This stadium is fantastic and the crowd were amazing despite their support for Mondo,” Marschall said. “We know he will be back as he won’t like being beaten but he told me he was chuffed it was me. I will build on this. I wanted to go higher today but the wind was tough at times. At 5.90 I think I got lucky with the wind out there.”
If only clearing 5.80m on Sunday felt uncharacteristic for Duplantis, it is since the height is noticeably below his most recent world record in March (6.31m) in Uppsala, Sweden at 0.51m. He admitted in Friday’s media session that targeting his own mark with the home crowd watching was a priority.
“I always have the juices flowing when I jump here in Stockholm,” Duplantis said. “It feels like extra weight and extra importance, so I really want to make sure that I put on as good of a show as possible.”
Duplantis will easily brush off the pressure of performing as a culprit in Sunday loss because he’s face higher heights on the biggest stages and still conquered.
Last September, with Marschall watching and likely expecting the outcome, Duplantis soared to world championship victoy in Tokyo and a then-new 6.30m world record. Marschall settled for bronze at 5.95m behind Emmanouil Karalis at 6.00m, while Duplantis kept pushing even after holding gold comfortably at 6.15m.
The crowd at Japan National Stadium was along for the ride and Duplantis cruised to the record — and then another months later.
That same level of hype was absent in Stockholm on Sunday and the magnitude of his ego bruise will depend on how he rebounds later in the circuit.
Unpredictable windy weather in Stockholm has always been factor at the meeting and can be attributed to some of what derailed Duplantis at Olympic Stadium, but this hiccup can be glossed over while the unbeaten streak counter is reset to zero.
There will be nearly ten other Diamond League showcases to choose from to begin a rebuild of sorts and September’s World Ultimate Championships in Budapest have already been marketed heavily in favor of Duplantis rattling the sport again with record ambitions.
His stumble on Sunday will likely be mashed into a footnote — at best — just like poor showing in Monaco in 2023 where he only managed a 5.72m best height and finished fifth, while Chris Nilsen, EJ Obiena and Marschall took the podium.
Duplantis has carefully managed his image over the years and won enough to be hungry for the next conquest. During the broadcast in Stockholm, he looked uneasy as the competition pivoted but still addressed the media after he was unable to save himself with one last majestic jump.
The 1.5 million-plus strong legion of followers on social media only had to wait less than a day for him to address the meeting. His usual immediate post-event recap was understandably absent this time around, but by Monday he congratulated Marschall on the win.
“Not the result we wanted, but extremely grateful for all the love and support at the stadium.❤️ great jumping mate”
