Olympic icon Mondo Duplantis failed to break his own world record at the final round of the Diamond League this year, but still made history.
The 24-year-old Swedish pole vaulter stunned the world at the 2024 Paris Olympics, not only winning a two-time gold medal but also breaking the world record for the ninth time.
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However, he did not stop there and broke this record again – by one centimeter – at the Diamond League meeting in Chorzow, Poland, bringing it to 6.26 meters.
And Duplantis was back in the spotlight in Brussels on Friday evening.
However, his recent efforts – and he has already become one of the world's most famous athletes – have prevented him from breaking that record for the 11th time.
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In Belgium, he won his fourth Diamond League trophy despite “feeling terrible”, jumping 6.11m, 15cm short of his current best.
“My legs felt terrible tonight and I was just really tired. It's been a crazy couple of weeks,” he explained.
Due to his fame, Duplantis took the opportunity to demonstrate his speed on the track, competing against 400m hurdles world record holder Karsten Warholm in the 100m exhibition race after the Summer Olympics.
Swede burst into the house firstsetting a personal best of 10.37 seconds, while his rival neighbor took second place, also with a personal best of 10.47 seconds.
But what happened nine days ago before the Zurich Diamond League threw him off track.
He continued: “The race with Karsten and then having to jump the next day. It was a lot more demanding on my body than I expected.”
“I showed a good result with 6.11m, but the world record should not have been broken today. It is not easy to show the best result every time. Everything has to come together.”
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It may have been a disappointment, but Duplantis' efforts did not go unrewarded.
The result of 6.11 m still turned out to be a meeting record, surpassing his own result by one centimeter.
However, he was the only person to clear the 6m mark, with his Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis clearing only 5.82m.
In addition, his victory allowed him to finish the entire season undefeated in all competitions.
And also his Olympics After winning, he won gold at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow and won eight Diamond League events.
However, he is now looking forward to enjoying the end of a brilliant year.
“Now it's time to celebrate my wonderful season: I'll definitely have some good Belgian beer tonight.”