Mondo competes for Sweden instead of USA. Brilliant move or cheap copout!

Not sure where you’ve been, but he’s been competing for Sweden since 2015. His mother is from Sweden and Mondo being a Swedish citizen predates him being a pole vaulter. His brother also competed for Sweden in 2009. Your argument is invalid.

Why wouldn't Mondo compete for Sweden? They probably provide financial assistance, camps, equipment, coaching fees, medical care, travel, stipends, etc. via the national federation. In addition, being a Swede makes him eligible for Euro Championships and I imagine that European meets give entry and pay expenses more easily to European athletes than Americans. Plus, track athletes are highly marketable in Europe compared to here.

Contrast that with our system - USATF does squat for you financially. You pay for everything with your own money. Sponsors probably don't pay vaulters much as it is a niche event within a niche sport. Plus, the shoe companies like to pay Americans very little "guaranteed" money and structure contracts with incentive bonuses for medals, records, etc. Get injured? You're screwed! Have fun paying for rent and physical rehab when the shoe company takes it claw back cash.

Mondo's not a traitor or foolish. Competing for Sweden has major advantages financially and logistically. You get a very short window to compete at this level. I don't blame anyone that takes a sure thing from another country rather than chancing our Trials system. One bad day or a season of injury in the USA makes the difference between potential glory or quitting to take a real job.

He should compete for the country that raised him and gave him everything. He should own the media in the event. Good thing Sam Kendricks is still at the top, but Mondo is going to be the number one guy for many years and probably crush the world record.

Crazy rant. You don't know him or his family and he has every right to compete for Sweden. He could easily make the US team if he wanted but if he feels he is Swedish then who cares.

Some Americans forget that your country is a melting pot. It started that way, continues that way and will always be that way.

I get your complaint about mondo. He was born here, raised here, doesn't speak Swedish, and never even visited that country until he was a teenager. I'm not strongly against it, but I do get where you are coming from.

I'm confused why he would feel a connection to Sweden, especially when he claims such a huge connection to Louisiana and says he would never consider going to any school other than LSU, which is an absolutely terrible school academically, so clearly his pride in his home state is fierce, so why compete for a different country than the one you supposedly have such a strong connection towards. His dad, who is also his coach and athletic mentor, was a even professional vaulter for the US. My guess is he was just a 15 year old kid who wanted to feel special, so he went with something "different."

But Shawn Barber? He spent half his childhood in Canada. His dad competed for Canada. He trains in Canada. He lives in Canada. One parent is American and the other Canadian. He has a pretty clear claim to feel "Canadian." Where is your anger against him coming from?

Why should he? It’s not like 5 years ago when the USA was the champion of good. Now we are rightfully perceived as evil.

zxcvzxcvxvc wrote:

He should compete for the country that raised him and gave him everything.

And here I thought his parents raised him. Is your logic basically the parenting equivalent of "you didn't build that"?

I'm from the same town as the Duplantis family. At one point I heard the reason but don't recall the exact details. But the bottom line is there was some reason he could not compete for Team USA. I remember at the time they said he couldn't compete for USA but could compete for Sweden since he had the connection through his mother. The kid wanted to compete so he went Sweden. Seems he also had other troubles with the Louisiana High School Athletic Association warning him in other instances he could lose eligibility if he competed certain places.

Bottom line is he didn't have a straight choice of USA or Sweden and went Sweden. There was a rules issue that either (1) prevented him from being on TEAM USA at all or (2) if he had competed with Team USA would have meant he lost eligibility for HS or college.

One word: Swedish chicks

When an East African immigrant becomes a citizen and makes a US national team in a distance event plenty of people complain that the EA is taking a spot on the team away from a natural born US runner. When a college gives a scholarship to a foreign athlete there are plenty of people who carry on about a US kid not getting that scholarship. If this kid is going to compete for Sweden it will open up a spot in the vault in our national teams. If I'm a vaulter with national team potential I'm happy that I have one less good guy to beat. This is a guy with a legitimate claim to Swedish citizenship, as are the others you mention. It's okay and your life will be neither more nor less wretched for any of them doing it.

AzWhippet wrote:

Remember what happened to the German Soldier from Oregon in Raising Private Ryan?

Was that the movie starring Tom Shanks and Pat Demon?

I agree that you should only be able to compete for one country. If you have dual citizenship you should be required to declare which country you will represent each Olympiad. Once you choose, you are locked in for the next four years.

I wouldn't go so far as to call them "traitors" but it is not appropriate. After all, traitors are hanged.

Track and field is an individual sport. I don’t understand why athletes represent a country in the first place, much less why some people make a big fuss over what country an athlete chooses to represent.

I'm not Mondo, but I find it hard to believe someone would feel that strongly for another country that they have never lived in. Only one of his parents is Swedish, and he was born and raised here.

I don't know for sure, but I think it is possible that initially competing for Sweden was the easy way for him to compete at the world level and that's why they chose to do it. Now that he is in a position to also 'easily' make the U.S. team, maybe he would've played it differently. If he switched now he would have to miss a full year or more of international competition.

And- he probably doesn't have to go through a do or die trials to make the National Team.

In the US, one bad day and you don't make the team.

He does speak swedish although with an American accent and his mother claims he is shy to do it on TV. His mother and older brother both competed for Sweden and he claims he has always felt 50% Swedish and 50% American and has always had dual citizenship. But the thing that made the difference was the organisation in the Swedish athletic team and that the head coach of the Swedish team keept personal contact with him for a long time before he joined.

But you're happy to have the WCAP Kenyans?

ex-runner wrote:

Crazy rant. You don't know him or his family and he has every right to compete for Sweden. He could easily make the US team if he wanted but if he feels he is Swedish then who cares.

Some Americans forget that your country is a melting pot. It started that way, continues that way and will always be that way.

Born and raised in America, never lived in Sweden. Competes for Sweden but not America. Makes sense.

I feel like I am Chinese.

El Keniano wrote:

But you're happy to have the WCAP Kenyans?

Hell no

The dude is from Louisiana. Born and raised. Went to LSU. Never lived in Sweden.

I ate Chinese food once. I’m Chinese.