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P<\/span>lenty of sports stars strive for perfection. In 2025, Mondo Duplantis achieved it. He broke the pole vault world record four times<\/a>. Retained his world indoor and outdoor titles. Won all 16 competitions that he entered. Was voted World Athletics\u2019 male athlete of the year. And, for good measure, was named the BBC\u2019s overseas personality of the year<\/a> too.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not necessarily such a thing as a perfect season,\u201d Duplantis says on a bright December day in Monaco. He pauses. \u201cBut that\u2019s as perfect as it can get.\u201d<\/p>\n Sporting dominance can eventually become sterile or dull. Think tiki-taka-era Spain<\/a>. Or Mercedes-era Lewis Hamilton<\/a>. Duplantis, though, remains track and field\u2019s greatest magic trick. How, you ask, will he clear a bar that is not far off the height of an average British house? But then he charges down the runway, plants and twists and flips, and makes his audience gasp yet again.<\/p>\n And, on special occasions, the stuntman\u2019s instinct to push the limits is fused with a leading actor\u2019s ability to steal a scene. At the Paris Olympics last year, after Duplantis had broken his own world record<\/a>, he then charged across the track to passionately kiss his fiancee, the model and content creator Desir\u00e9 Inglander. The cameras captured every frame. The clip went viral. And suddenly the Swede was a global celebrity as well as a double Olympic gold medallist.<\/p>\n