Olympic pole vault champion and world record-holder Mondo Duplantis will return to British soil at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham on Saturday, February 19, 2022.
The last time Duplantis competed on these shores, at this event in Glasgow in February 2020, the Swedish star cleared 6.18m to set a world record that still stands.
The World Indoor Tour Gold event is back after a year’s hiatus and so is the Olympic champion, poised to thrill British crowds again at the Utilita Arena Birmingham.
“I’m really excited for the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham,” said Duplantis.
“The event holds fond memories for me. Going over 6.18 and breaking the world record was a special moment.
“British fans are passionate, and they really know pole vault, which is great for us to compete in front of.
“I always like to look forward, not back, and with loads of big competitions this year I hope to start my season well.”
Duplantis is the latest star of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to announce his intention to compete in the UK’s second city.
800m British record holder and Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson was the first to do so last month as glittering fields assemble for the event.
The 22-year-old pole vaulter has redefined one of athletics’ most awe-inspiring disciplines, an astonishing rise having only begun his senior career in 2019.
That year he won silver at the World Athletics Championships and cleared the hallowed six-metre barrier for the first time.
Mondo really took off in the 2020 indoor season, clearing 6.17m in Poland to surpass mentor Renaud Lavillenie’s (FRA) mark that stood for six years.
A week later, he got a sell-out Emirates Arena on their feet by going over 6.18m at the first attempt. He would go on to clear 6.07m outdoors that season.
Duplantis maintained his form in Olympic year and a clearance of 6.02m was enough to earn him Olympic gold at his debut Games.
The Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham was last staged in 2019, when Olympic bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw claimed victory in the women’s pole vault competition.
She attempted the then-British record of 4.88m on three occasions but claimed the spoils with 4.81m, enough to beat Rio Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi.
- Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis will headline the men’s pole vault field at the event in Birmingham.
- The Swedish superstar set a world record on British soil in 2020.
- Duplantis joins Keely Hodgkinson in the field for the World Athletics Indoor Tour gold event.
Tickets for the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham are on sale NOW.
