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

Mondo Duplantis has once again broken the pole vault world record at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm - by another centimetre.

The Swedish star, who was born in the United States to a Swedish mother and American father, cleared 6.28 metres - making it the 12th time he has broken the pole vault world record.

His latest attempt saw him finish comfortably clear of the rest of the field, with second-placed Kurtis Marschall clearing 5.90m.

Duplantis promised before the Diamond League meeting that he would attempt to break his record in front of his home crowd, and told reporters afterwards: "This was one of my biggest goals and dreams to set a world record here at Stadion. It's like the Olympics and Stadion, they're the same level for me.

"I really wanted to do it, I had my whole family here, from both sides. It's magic, it's magic."

What is fascinating about Duplantis is that, on every occasion he has broken the world record since 2020, he has done so by a single centimetre every time.

In pole vault, athletes can choose the height at which they wish to enter the competition, and will get three attempts to clear it.

They then have free rein to decide their next height after each clearance, so the Swede's very specific record-breaking exploits are entirely of his own choosing.

Forbes reported back in August, after he won Olympic gold in the pole vault event at Paris 2024, that each athlete receives $100,000 when they break the world record.

That sum is paid out every time the world record is broken, so Duplantis has earned a cool $1.2 million over the past five years from that avenue alone.

However, there is one restriction - athletes can only be paid the $100,000 reward once per meeting.

As a result, the Swedish star can simply choose to only jump a centimetre higher, knowing he can then work on clearing an even bigger number in training for a future meeting.

Forbes noted: "An athlete such as Duplantis who recognises this understands that they can maximise their financial return by waiting to break the world record again."

What is perhaps even more ominous is that Duplantis is still only 25 - so you imagine he still has plenty more left in him when it comes to world record attempts.