Fifteen world records. Every meet won since 2023. At 26, Mondo Duplantis has made breaking records like a regular event, almost expected. So when he stepped onto the track at the Shanghai Diamond League, he was chasing a 16th world record, but when he left without a new world record, it was the closest thing to a failure his career has seen in years. Except it wasn’t, as it was still enough to create a new Shanghai DL record.

For a second there, it looked like Mondo Duplantis had competition. Both Emmanouli Karalis and Kurtis Marschall joined him at the 5.90m mark, but then the two failed to cross it. Duplantis, meanwhile, didn’t just clear it but also set a Shanghai DL meet record of 6.12m. Yet, given his competitive nature, that wasn’t enough for the Swedish pole vaulter.

Even if it was the 130th time that he has cleared a mark of 6m or more, instead, his eye was on the world record. So, Duplantis raised the bar to 6.32m, above his own mark of 6.31m, and then he took off. Unfortunately, despite three tries, the 26-year-old failed to break his 16th world record, coming close on his second attempt.

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Mondo later confessed, “In a dream world, I would have prepared a little bit differently, but i was at the Met Gala a couple of weeks ago and what was not the best preparation before this meet. Sometimes you have to make a few sacrifices.”

Yet Mondo warned, “But, um, no, I feel really good. I feel really dangerous. I actually had a pretty, quite a hectic past month and a half or so.”

That doesn’t come as a major surprise, given that this is only the third meet of the 2026 season for Mondo Duplantis. Not just that, it’s his first meet of the outdoor season, and the 26-year-old believes he made a few important discoveries for the future.

“Yeah, definitely,” Duplantis said in the post-event interview, when asked if he learnt something. “I think I’m still processing it. I think I’m still absorbing everything that happened out on the track today.”

Despite only participating in four meets, including the DL, this season, Mondo Duplantis has been in fine fettle. The 26-year-old simply doesn’t lose and proved that beautifully during the World Indoor Championships earlier this year. He became the first man ever to win four consecutive indoor pole vault titles, taking his winning streak to 40 since 2023.

It’s an unbelievable record, and the Swede only added to that with his latest performance. Yet he believes he wasn’t in perfect form and didn’t prepare properly heading into Shanghai. That will, however, change at the next DL meet in Stockholm, with Duplantis keen to impress the home fans.

“I’m gonna make sure that I’m really ready for the next competitions, especially Stockholm,” he added. “That’s one that’s really important to me, and that’s one that I’m gonna make sure that I’m, I’m really primed and ready to go for. So, if I can jump 6-12 here today in China under the circumstances, then I feel pretty dangerous. So that’s good.”

However, while Mondo Duplantis continues to dominate on the runway, the 26-year-old has also become a star off it. That was on full display earlier this month when the two-time Olympic gold medalist made an appearance at the 2026 Met Gala.

Mondo Duplantis reflects on his appearance at the 2026 Met Gala

He may have a myriad of world records and a winning streak that few can match, but Mondo Duplantis also has an equally impressive social life. The 26-year-old is set to get married soon, and earlier this month, he was spotted at the Met Gala. There, Duplantis was seen alongside fiancée Desire Inglander, keeping a jam-packed diary.

So much so that just days before the gala, Duplantis released his fifth single, “Mondo,” which he competed in Shanghai. Not just that, in March 2026, World Athletics announced that Mondo Duplantis would be pulling double duty at the World Athletics Ultimate Championships.

He wouldn’t just be competing in the event; he was set to compose the anthem as well. It didn’t make for the perfect preparation for the Shanghai DL meet, as Duplantis joked.

“I say no to a lot of things,” Duplantis revealed. “Desiree wasn’t gonna let me say no to the Met Gala invite, if I’m being honest, and that probably wasn’t the best preparation for this. But, no, it’s okay. It was really cool, and it’s a, it’s a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

“And to be able to represent, you know, athletics and then, and also pole vaulting, probably the first pole vaulter to be invited to the Met Gala, if I had to guess. So I think that’s a cool thing.”

Yet despite all his commitments off the runway, Duplantis made it clear that athletics remains his priority above all else.

“But, of course, I’m gonna make sure that I’m gonna be ready to compete always. I still made sure I was ready to jump quite okay here today, and I’m happy with the 6-12 meeting record and first Diamond League win of the year. So it’s gonna be a good season,” he added. 

For most athletes, a Shanghai Diamond League meet record and a comfortable win would be more than enough. But for Mondo Duplantis, failing to clear 6.32m somehow still leaves the feeling that there’s more to come, especially with Stockholm now firmly in his sights.