Duplantis er ikke svensk. Han er amerikaner fra Lafayette, Louisiana.
Fantastisk, egen klasse.
Det blir rart. Han har svensk mor og amerikansk far. Begge var toppidrettsutøvere. Mondo hadde svensk statsborgerskap fra fødselen av, og amerikansk.
Og grunnen til at han stiller for Sverige skyldes de amerikanske reglene for opptak til toppidrett. Svenskenes passet hans ekstreme talent, og tillot også at faren er hans trener.
Here are the real reasons why Mondo Duplantis competes for Sweden.
1. He's a citizen of Sweden and the United States. His mother is from Sweden. His Swedish grandparents don't even speak English. Despite lies and misinformation on social media that suggest Sweden paid Duplantis and fast-tracked his citizenship, the fact is, Duplantis has been a citizen of Sweden since his birth.
2. By competing for Sweden, Duplantis was able to start competing in pole vaulting at a younger age. Sweden does not have the same age restrictions on competing at the highest levels of the sport. The United States does.
3. As it pertains to the Olympics, Sweden selects their Olympians on the totality of their performance over several years, rather than an all-or-nothing Olympic trial.
4. It's more lucrative financially. Pole vaulting is popular in Sweden. It is not a mainstream sport in the United States. Mondo Duplantis is a national superstar in Sweden, viewed with the same regard by Swedes as the country's best soccer players. He was the 2020 World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year and is estimated to be worth millions.
5. Sweden offered to let Mondo's father Greg Duplantis, a former world-class pole vaulter himself, coach him on the Swedish team. The same offer was not made by the U.S. team. Mondo is still coached today by his father Greg, and mother Helena.
Professional pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana. Why does the Olympic Gold medalist compete for Sweden? A number of reasons.
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