Why does he compete for Sweden? Has he ever lived there ever, can he speak the language?
He has apparently been taking Swedish classes lately with the goal of being able to give an olympic victory interview in swedish. Which he actually did. That shows determination and ambition on so many levels.
Better than comparing Sweden to the USA is comparing Sweden to Louisiana, and the European Union to the USA. Once you've got that in your mind, then think of that fact that in the USA, 99% of the money goes to the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL. Track is so far down the list, who knows where it is. Not in the EU though, track is huge and Diamond League meets there are like NFL games here, tailgating and everything. So, it wasn't just about the USA's stupid method of picking an Olympic team based on one meet. It was also about the opportunity to be a star in his mother's home, the EU.
Be a national hero in Sweden or get some coverage once every four years in the US.
It's not even debatable.
What is the view of him in Sweden? Any Swedish people on here? He doesn't live there and never has, I imagine many Swedish people aren't fully embracing him as being one of their own. Imagine if someone with American parents was born in Monaco and lived their whole life there but still showed up once per year to compete at the US championships and worlds for the US. Maybe it's different because they don't exactly have a bunch of other pole vaulters who he's taking a spot from.
I have to imagine being a gold medalist and world record holder competing for the US ultimately is more lucrative? Or is he going to be like the biggest thing in Sweden?
I know it was a decision he made very young so he could easily make Worlds/Olympics every year, but if I was an American competing for another country while winning gold at the Olympics I'd be kinda bummed, no?
It was great for him to move. With his talent he would be rich no matter where, but competing for Sweden he has a guaranteed spot at the big competitions, while in the US he would have to enter the Trials. One bad day and 4 years into the trash. It's a non-question, really.
You guys don't realize how idolized americans are around the world, if an american decides to compete for another country this is seem as a good thing, that country must be so good!
Duplantis would get no attention and no sponsors in the US, he has a lot of sponsorship deals in Sweden right now
The same thing happened with Eileen Gu, who compete for China in the last Winter Olympics despite being born in America and living/training in the US. She gotta a ton of money on chinese sponsorship, way more than she would have got if she stayed in the US.
I bet other athletes wish they had done the same (Chloe Kim comes to mind)
Duplantis now hangs out with the Swedish Royal Family, he wouldn't even get a letter from Biden had he stayed in the US.
Duplantis and Gu have the same sponsor, I wonder if they played a role in this as well.
What has not been mentioned much is the perceived value by the European public of a US citizen who *could* easily make the US team, but chooses to compete as a citizen of another country. People who actively walk away from the US are actually held in very high regard by the Modern World., so I would imagine Mondo gains a fair bit from his past decisions.
You guys don't realize how idolized americans are around the world, if an american decides to compete for another country this is seem as a good thing, that country must be so good!
Americans are at best pitied around the world, but more often, held in contempt.
I can't get past thinking about him as a carpetbagger though and if I were a Swede, I would feel about him like I feel about Lagat. He's a fine person, great runner etc but I have no sense of national pride (or whatever) when I ponder Lagat. Actual Swedes may not feel the same and may well embrace imports, I don't know.
Lagat ran for two different countries over his running career, plus his parents or ancestors didn’t have a cultural connection to the US, and even if he spoke or learned English before joining WSU, that’s so common for kids across the world to do that it doesn’t make for a linguistic connection; all of which make his case a bit different from Duplantis’.
Swedes care about him, eg, his mother’s hometown municipality erected a pole vault bar in the town square in his honor.
You guys don't realize how idolized americans are around the world, if an american decides to compete for another country this is seem as a good thing, that country must be so good!
Americans are at best pitied around the world, but more often, held in contempt.
Bruce Jenner. The American market is so large, more than 20 times larger than Sweden, and of such worldwide reach that it is far better than being a big fish in the very small pond of a nation of less than 15 million.
China's actual market is the 2nd biggest in the world and its potential market is by far the largest in the world, so Eileen Gu had that market analysis correct, but personally she has already suffered from the Chinese system.
Mondo is so good that he could easily make the U.S. team in virtually every competition while jumping a full foot under his best. Besides, if you're a pole vaulter, you are used to taking some risks for the big payoff.
I find the lack of ownership and pride Americans repose in other Americans like Duplantis funny. When Obama became president or Harris veep, Kenya and India were excited despite their having only a parental connection to those lands. Yao Ming was as much or perhaps even more one of their own as Eileen Gu was to the Chinese.
I will never get over Mondo Duplantis. And I´m a dual citizen myself.
Americans are extremely good at supporting local talent. And extremely good at taking pride in their local talent and local teams. If you are an incredible track phenom in the Louisiana school system, everyone backs you up in your town, your state, all through the south... the whole country is behind you. Why in the world would you throw that support away and have everyone discredit you because "...yea he´s good but he chose another country 5000 miles away over us"? It´s a slap in every American´s face.
I can´t imagine winning the world championships in front of what could have and should have been your home crowd. Every time I see him, it´s like I see that there is sadness and an empty space in him because he is trying to be something he is not. He even went to LSU for a year just because it was his and his father´s dream, even though he had to wait one more year to pocket like half a million dollars. I don´t believe he did not dream of representing the US and winning gold medals for the US, and winning something big in front of an American home crowd.
Wake up. Duplantis doesn't miss representing the US and he doesn't have regrets. You tell yourself that to maintain the, "Best Country in The World" fantasy. Duplantis is proud to represent a country that takes care of *all* its citizens.