Pole vault world-record holder Mondo Duplantis, a former LSU All-American, has been named 2022 World Athlete of the Year by World Athletics, the international governing authority for track and field.
Duplantis, a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, shared the honor with women’s 400-meter hurdler Sydney McLaughlin Levrone.
Duplantis in 2022 set three world records, won two global titles, won 18 of his 19 competitions, and vaulted six meters (19.685 feet) or higher 23 times.
Duplantis, despite only just turning 23, now has more six-meter clearances than any other pole vaulter in history.
His record-breaking 2022 campaign began with an undefeated indoor season, during which he set a world record of 6.19m in Belgrade, Serbia. He returned to Belgrade two weeks later for the World Athletics Indoor Championships, where he struck gold with 6.20m, another improvement on his own world record.
He was then victorious on the Wanda Diamond League circuit, including a 6.16m vault in Stockholm, Sweden, the highest-ever outdoor vault in history. It was the perfect warm-up for the World Championships three weeks later.
As the last athlete competing on the final day at the World Championships in Eugene, Ore., Duplantis soared over a world record of 6.21m with room to spare.
Less than a month later, he retained his European title with a championship record of 6.06m in a competition where he registered no misses. He then wrapped up his season with a victory at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich, Switzerland.
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