Pole vault world record holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis said he felt nerves ahead of the new Diamond League season as he prepares to defend his unbeaten streak.
The U.S.-born Swedish star opens his outdoor campaign Saturday in a strong field in China, where he will face Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who rose to second on the all-time list in February after clearing 6.17 meters in Athens.
The competition in Shanghai and Keqiao also includes two-time world champion Sam Kendricks of the United States and double world championship bronze medalist Kurtis Marschall of Australia.
Duplantis, unbeaten since 2023, set his 15th pole vault world record in March when he cleared 6.31 meters in Sweden and will be the star attraction in eastern China.
“I’m super excited,” the two-time Olympic champion and three-time world gold medalist said Friday.
“You always have a little bit of nerves when you’re going into your first outdoor competition, which I really like because it gets you a little fired up and brings a different type of energy.
“I feel good. We’ll find out tomorrow if I really do feel good, but I really like jumping here.
“I love jumping when you have that nice light at night. A big stadium really sets the mood.
“I think it’s really going to be fun. I want to jump high, as always.”
Duplantis will be joined by Kenya’s middle-distance runner Faith Kipyegon, Norway’s hurdler Karsten Warholm, Botswana’s Olympic 200-meter champion Letsile Tebogo and Nigeria’s 100-meter hurdler Tobi Amusan in what promises to be a high-octane start to the 15-meet series.
This year’s Diamond League crosses four continents and 15 cities en route to the two-day final in Brussels on Sept. 4-5.
