LAUSANNE, Switzerland: Already one of athletics' biggest stars, Sweden's Mondo Duplantis is now providing the soundtrack too, with the double Olympic pole vault champion releasing the official anthem for World Athletics' inaugural Ultimate Championship.
The track, titled 'Gold', was written and performed by the world-record-holder and released globally on major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music, on Friday.
The song will be the signature soundtrack of the inaugural Ultimate Championship, which is being held from September 11 to 13 in Budapest and will feature the world's best athletes competing for a share of a $10 million prize fund.
"I wrote the song around representing something that's a lot bigger than yourself," Duplantis said in a statement. "I think that's what we all do when we're on the track. We represent our family, our team, our coaches and I love that concept."
The accompanying music video, filmed in Budapest, features footage from across Duplantis' career, including clips of pole vaulting as a youngster, along with appearances by family, friends and fellow athletes.
Duplantis, who is represented by Sony Music Sweden, has pursued music alongside his athletics career and has accumulated more than 11 million streams on Spotify.
He has released half a dozen songs, his first being "Bop" in February 2025.
The 26-year-old will perform 'Gold' live at the close of the Ultimate Championship.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the event, which will be held every two years, is designed to showcase the personalities and talents of athletics' biggest stars on and off the track in the hope of drawing younger fans to the sport.
"It's a massive global sporting championship, and it felt appropriate to have an anthem that serves to inspire our audiences and fans across the world, written and performed by one of the greats," Coe said.
DUPLANTIS SOARS TO VICTORY
On Thursday, Duplantis soared 6.21 metres to win the Lausanne Diamond League pole vault, narrowly missing two world-record attempts in a positive performance after a few shaky weeks.
Emmanouil Karalis of Greece took second with a height of 6.16, while Kurtis Marschall of Australia cleared 5.91 for third.
Duplantis was beaten for the first time in three years in Stockholm in June, ending a run of 40 straight victories, and then retired from the London Diamond League in July with a groin twinge.
On Thursday, he and Karalis both cleared 6.16. Duplantis — sprinting down the runway to his own song 'Feelin' Myself' — made it over on his first attempt. It took Karalis, who had fans clapping along to 'Zorba's Dance' when he stepped on the runway, two jumps.
Duplantis then cleared 6.21 on his first attempt, while Karalis missed twice at that height and then — with only one chance remaining — he made the bold move to raise the bar to 6.26, what would have been a nine-centimetre personal best.
Karalis, whose 6.17 earlier this year made him the second-highest vaulter in history, missed, but Duplantis saluted his good friend's efforts.
Duplantis, who has broken the world record an astounding 15 times, took two attempts at 6.32 metres.
"I'm tired," Duplantis said, laughing. "But no, I feel really good. I feel really happy. Just such an amazing competition. Everybody jumped so well, and so I just felt like I really had to step it up, and I'm glad I just jumped really well and I jumped really high."
The Swede, who won a fourth straight European title in Birmingham last week, will be keen to sharpen his form further ahead of the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship next month in Budapest.
While the remainder of the Lausanne event will take place on Friday at Stade de la Pontaise, the men's pole vault took centre stage on Thursday at Place de la Navigation in Lausanne's Ouchy district on the shores of Lake Geneva.
"I really love jumping here. I think this venue is amazing, the city is amazing, all the people who came here are amazing," Duplantis said. "So yeah, I can't wait to be back next year."
Fans enjoyed a rare close-up view of the action, lining the runway and around the back of the pit and clapping along to booming pop music as the world's best soared two storeys high above them. — Reuters
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