Financial trick Why Duplantis only ever breaks the world record by one centimeter

Pole vaulter Armand Duplantis crowned his second Olympic victory with another world record. Financially, however, his record jump would have paid off more elsewhere.

Armand Duplantis jumped 6.25 meters in his third attempt at the Stade de France on Monday. That was one centimeter more than on April 20 at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, China. It was the ninth world record of Duplantis' career.

The big Duplantis showWorld record, iconic cheers, sweet smooches and a crashed interview

Coincidentally, "Mondo", as Duplantis is known, has improved each of his nine world records to date by exactly one centimeter.

The main reason behind this statistic: money. Setting a new world record is financially lucrative. On the one hand, Duplantis collects money from the organizers. The various athletics meetings offer different sums for a best performance, around 45,000 euros for the Diamond League series, for example. In addition, the World Athletics Federation (formerly IAAF) pays 100,000 US dollars for a world record at a World Championships.

On the other hand, "Mondo" has had a contract with sporting goods manufacturer Puma since he was a child, which guarantees him bonuses for titles and records. Duplantis is also under contract with Red Bull.

Complex bonus structure

But there is no extra bonus for an Olympic triumph of all things. For the International Olympic Committee (IOC), participation or a medal is honor enough. Duplantis therefore receives no bonus from the organizers for his record jump in Paris.

In addition, Duplantis is financially unlucky to be competing for the Swedes. Duplantis grew up in Louisiana (USA) and, as a dual citizen, could also have competed for the Americans. The US federation pays its Olympic champions 38,000 US dollars. But Sweden (along with Great Britain, Iceland, New Zealand and Norway) does not pay its athletes a bonus even if they win a gold medal.

Olympic tickerThe Paris Games are officially over ++ The USA remains number 1

But "Mondo" is lucky that the World Athletics Association has offered Olympic prize money. Since the summer games in Paris, World Athletics has rewarded gold medals with 50,000 US dollars each.

Rough estimates put Duplanti's fortune at around 5 million US dollars. No matter what his bank balance looks like at the end of the day, money doesn't seem to be a driving force for Duplantis anyway, as he once confirmed to "Aftonbladet" (via NZZ). In 2020, he was still driving the old Toyota he got from his brother.

Child prodigy with big dreams - and a big thirst

However, it is all the more important to him to fulfill his dreams. From an early age, he was driven by a longing to pole vault, as video footage shows. No wonder, after all, his father was a pole vaulter and his mother was a heptathlete and volleyball player.

After his Olympic victory, Duplantis said: "There are no words to explain it. One of the biggest dreams I've ever had has come true. I've been visualizing this moment for so long, and now I've done it. So many years, so much work has gone into this one moment. I am a very lucky man."

The 24-year-old announced that he would be celebrating the triumph in style: "I'm going to enjoy this like nothing else. The party will be pretty big, not much sleep, a good time." Duplantis seems to have put this plan into practice. Visibly marked by a night of drinking, he gave an interview to Swedish television in a husky voice.