Will Mondo Duplantis Go After A World Record At The Diamond League Paris?

The Diamond League restarts this weekend in Paris as Olympic qualifiers take center stage.

Jul 5, 2024 by Brett Haffner

Will Mondo Duplantis Go After A World Record At The Diamond League Paris?

After a brief hiatus from the Diamond League due to national championships, the circuit returns to the home of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Many athletes -- many now as Olympic qualifiers for their respective countries -- will use these three Diamond League meetings before the Olympics as opportunities to tune up before the Games in August.

The schedule will start with Paris this weekend, followed by Monaco on July 12 and London on July 20.

Last year’s Paris Meeting was electric, posting two world records: Faith Kipyegon in the 5000 meters and Lamecha Girma in the steeplechase.

We will see Kipyegon in Paris once again this weekend, along with perennial threat to his own world record, Mondo Duplantis.

With these two taking charge as headliners, world records could always be in doubt.

FOUR EVENTS TO WATCH

Faith Kipyegon Highlights Deep Women’s 1500m Field

Kipyegon will make her Diamond League season debut in Paris, after a successful 1,500m/5,000m double at the Kenyan Olympic Trials back in June, winning both races comfortably.

Executing on 1,500m meter race will give Kipyegon an opportunity to cement her tactics before her title defense begins as the reigning Olympic Champion.

But behind her is an incredible field of women assembled in Paris. Six women have already broken 4:00 this season.

Frewyni Hailu and Jessica Hull will certainly be strong contenders behind Kipyegon, as each of those two have run personal bests of 3:55 this year. Hailu’s time is the fifth-fastest in the world in 2024, while Hull’s best sits at eighth-fastest this year.

Always a contender for global medals, Great Britain's Laura Muir will pose a threat with her 3:56 season best putting her at 10th-fastest in the world this year. After finishing runner-up at the British Championships in the 1,500m in a tactical final, Muir’s strength in a faster race could certainly serve her well.

This deep and fast field might result in a pretty quick race, given the right conditions.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi Leads Strong Field in 800m

At the Kenyan Olympic Trials, Wanyonyi continued his dominant season in the 800m and ran world lead of 1:41.70 to crush the field, shattering his personal best.

While Wanyonyi is the first man to run under 1:42 this season, there was more to the performance. He's now the third-fastest man in. history at the distance. So it’s clear that he’s on a different level right now.

Behind him will be Kenyan compatriot Wycliffe Kinyamal, who finished second at the Kenyan Trials in the 800m. With these two in tow, coming off of incredible performance at their Trials, might we see some very quick times again?

Along with talents such as Daniel Sedjati and Paris talents in Benjamin Robert, Gabriel Tual, Yanis Meizane, and Azeddine Habz -- all of which have broken 1:44 in their lifetimes -- this will shape up to be a pretty stacked race.

Three Sub-50 Women Battle in Women’s 400m

Marileidy Paulino, Alexis Holmes and Natalia Kaczmarek have all run under the 50-second barrier in 2024, and should all provide a fierce battle in Paris this weekend.

Kaczmarek has the fastest of the field in 2024, having run 48.94 at the European Championships in early June, and she brought home the gold for Poland. Holmes, meanwhile, navigated through a stacked final at the U.S. Olympic Trials, clocking a final time of 49.76 to finish third in the women's field and solidify her spot at the Paris Olympics in August.

She’s coming off of a very fast final where she had to face off against multiple women who were under 50 seconds in the 400 meters, so this type of challenge from Kaczmarek and Paulino should feel familiar.

When Paulino has run in 2024, she’s dominated, taking home a win in every single race she’s run.

How High Will Mondo Go?

Wherever and whenever Mondo Duplantis goes, it’ll always be a question whether he’ll surpass his own world records or not.

After re-setting his men's pole vault world record in Xiamen this year, clearing 6.24m, the quest for 6.25m should now be in his sights.

Considering the rest of the world has only seen one clearance at or above 6.00m by a man not named Mondo Duplantis -- it was done by Christopher Nilsen indoors -- it’s safe to say with a quality series of attempts, we’ll see Duplantis on top.

However, when you look at the rest of the field, there are a lot of guys who have a season bests right below 6.00m and are eager to get across that barrier.

The American trio of Sam Kendricks, Christopher Nilsen and Jacob Wooten will all be in Paris this weekend and looking to break that 6.00m barrier after finishing in the top three at the US Olympic Trials.

Thibaut Collet, Emmanouil Karalis, and Ernest John Obiena have all cleared at least 5.93m in 2024, only adding to this incredible depth in the men’s pole vault this weekend.

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