Duplantis wins second straight World Sport Star award

Armand Duplantis, a pole vault star from Sweden, has won the BBC Sports Activist’s World Sport Star of the Year award for the second year in a row.

Duplantis, who is more popularly known as Mondo, won a third successive world title in Tokyo in September, breaking the previous record for the 14th time.

The 26-year-old broke the record for clearance over 6.30 meters, which is the most times he has ever increased it in a single year of his career.

In Clermont-Ferrand in February, he jumped 6.27 meters before increasing his record in Stockholm in June and Budapest in August by another centimeter.

Duplantis is regarded as the greatest pole vaulter ever and has the highest six-meter clearance in all of history.

The two-time Olympic champion has won eight gold medals in both indoor and outdoor competitions overall.

Duplantis’ most recent success in Japan extended his dominance streak to 37 matches, beginning in 2023.

In front of a captivated audience in Tokyo, who stayed in the stadium after his most recent world record attempt was over, watched his most recent performance.

In a public vote, the BBC World Sport Star of the Year was chosen.

Other names that made the shortlist were American football players Mohamed Salah, Spain’s Mariona Caldentey, American boxer Terence Crawford, Japan’s Shohei Ohtani, and American athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.