Mondo Duplantis and Karsten Warholm (Images via: Getty) — Olympic champions Mondo Duplantis [L] and Karsten Warholm [R] will soon go head-to-head in a 100m race | Getty

"100m race against Karsten Warholm has helped keep the motivation high" - Mondo Duplantis geared up for sprinting clash with Norwegian hurdler

Modified Aug 26, 2024 14:33 GMT

2024 Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis has shed light on his upcoming friendly 100m race with Karsten Warholm. The race is scheduled just before the 14th Diamond League meet of the season in Zurich.

Speaking in a press conference after his record-breaking performance at the Silesia Diamond League meet on Sunday, Duplantis stated that his upcoming friendly competition with Warholm has motivated him to stay fit and perform at his highest prowess over this last track and field leg of the 2024 season.

The Swedish pole vaulter also remarked that he looked at the event as something that's going to be "fun and something really nice."

Duplantis said:

"I mean, I think that honestly, the 100m race against Karsten has helped me these past couple of weeks to keep the motivation high and keep myself in good shape and keep me hungry for this last part of the season because I think it's going to be such a fun thing and something really nice, to push ourselves to do something new and kind of fresh. So, I think there's a big part of that is... doing that race is what's keeping me going forward."

Both Warholm and Duplantis participated in the Silesia Diamond League meet 2024 on Sunday and both performed superbly in their respective events. While Duplantis won the pole vault gold with a new world record, the Norwegian won the 400m hurdles after registering a meet-record run time of 46.95 seconds.

Mondo Duplantis scripts another world record-breaking performance at Silesia Diamond League

Mondo Duplanttis at the Silesia Diamond League in Chorzow, Poland (Getty Images)

After successful outings at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the Lausanne Diamond League, Mondo Duplantis scripted another impressive performance as he clinched a top-of-the-podium finish at the Silesia Diamond League on Sunday.

The 24-year-old registered a mark of 6.25m in his second attempt, improving his world record of 6.25m set at the Stade de France during the 2024 Olympic Games. This is now the 10th time that the Swedish athlete has set a world record in the pole vault discipline.

His United States rival and two-time Olympic medalist Sam Kendricks finished in second position after registering a mark of 6.00m. Greece's Emmanouli Karalis finished third after registering a PB of 6.00m.