Genius reason Mondo Duplantis only improves his world record 1cm at a time despite proving he can go higher

Mondo Duplantis has broken the pole vault world record for the 13th time - once again using his own unique method for doing so.

The Swede cleared 6.29 metres at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest on Tuesday night.

It was only in June that Duplantis set his previous world record in his home country, clearing 6.28 metres at a meeting in Stockholm.

On this occasion, the 25-year-old failed at his first attempt at the increased height but vaulted over the bar with his second.

His fiancee, Desire Inglander, was in the crowd watching his latest world record attempt, and posted incredible POV footage of Duplantis clearing 6.29.

Desiré Inglander shares her POV of her fiancé Mondo Duplantis breaking the pole vault world record today by clearing 6.29m 🐐 🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/9xL4kuu6eF

— CITIUS MAG (@CitiusMag) August 12, 2025

The Swede, who was born in Louisiana, United States but represents the country of his mother's birth, stated after setting the record: "I love Hungary very much. The track is very good. I love the crowd - I would like to return. Thank you."

How has Duplantis broken the pole vault record 13 times?

Aside from simply being exceptionally good at pole vault, there is another specific reason as to why Duplantis has broken the world record on so many occasions.

Pole vault is one of the few disciplines where athletes can choose which height they wish to enter the competition.

If they can clear that height in three attempts, they then move on to a taller bar and continue until they fail a height three times.

Athletes are not restricted in what height they can pick, meaning Duplantis himself chooses to up his bar by just one centimetre for every world record attempt.

Forbes reported in August, after his world record at the Paris 2024 Olympics, that each athlete receives $100,000 each time a world record is broken.

That payout can only be received once per event, however, which is why Duplantis spaces out his world record attempts.

Since 2020, the Swede has earned $1.3 million just from world record bonus payouts.

How far can Duplantis jump?

Duplantis' father Greg - himself a former pole vaulter - believes that the 25-year-old can jump as high as 6.40 metres in the future.

Speaking in 2024, he told Red Bull: "Pole vaulters typically peak in their late 20s to early 30s. He's still getting stronger and I think he's going to be better in four years than he is now.

"He's already jumping higher than anyone ever has and to predict how high he can jump is crazy. This probably does sound crazy, but I think he can get close to 6.40, if not 6.40. But it will require a lot of work."