“I am going to save what I think I can save; I think I can save track, I don’t think I can save track and field,” said Michal Johnson. However, little didn’t Johnson know how this statement would rile up the track and field community, with even athletes lashing out at the MJ’s words. However, field sports icon and Olympic champion, Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis, seems unbothered.

Unlike many, Duplantis didn’t express concern about the tack in track and field overshadowing the latter. That’s because the Olympian’s alliance lies with his discipline specifically. “If I had to be brutally honest, I think of myself as a pole vaulter first over being a field eventer,” confessed the Swedish athletics icon. However, that doesn’t mean Duplantis doesn’t care about field sports at large.

“The pole vault is a bit different from everything else. Of course, I want the field events to get the respect and the attention that I think they deserve,” explained Mondo Duplantis. “I just want to keep trying to put it in the limelight,” the Olympian said about his discipline. So instead of lashing out at Johnson’s comments, Duplantis hopes to elevate his slice of the field events sincerely.

“Pole vault is such a beautiful, crazy art form and when it’s displayed in the right way then there’s nothing quite like it.” the two-time world champion told Athletics Weekly. At this point, it’s crucial to note the element of similarity in Johnson and Duplantis’ viewpoints. As a legendary sprinter, Johnson himself may have also prioritized track events for Grand Slam Track.

However, there is a distinct difference in how the veteran champion and pole vault world record holder spoke about the other side of the sport. “I’m not sure it works when you’re trying to create a professional sport outside of those global competitions,” Johnson added about including field sports in Grand Slam Track. Meanwhile, Mondo Duplantis had a much more open-minded take.

Mondo Duplantis veered away from making an extreme opinion

While prioritizing pole-vaulting, Duplantist hopes that the sport grows in every aspect, and if track overshadows field events, then the other should adapt. “If the sport is going to get more track centric then of course you have to think about branching out a little bit yourself and creating your own opportunities,” explained the two-time indoor world champion.

Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track garnered immense support as a league promising to revolutionize athlete pay in track and field. However, the moment MJ posited himself as the potential savior of track events, he drew the ire of the community. Mondo Duplantis’ fellow field eventers such as Tara Davis-Woodhall had a far more animated reaction to the fiasco.

“About my sport, it doesn’t need saving at all. It’s actually… Michael, you’re ruining the sport if you’re trying to ‘save’ just track,” said the Paris 2024 long-jump gold medalist. “The field events actually do have a lot of impact to the sport,” said Davis-Woodhall. Even her husband and Paralympic sprinting gold medalist Hunter Wood didn’t veil his criticism.

“You’re long gone. Your time has passed. If you wanted to change the sport, you should have changed it a long time ago. Instead, you were skipping out of the sport.” said Hunter Woodhall. However, taking stock of the current situation, Mondo Duplantis hopes to continue to influence and elevate the discipline where he reigns supreme, indirectly contributing to track and field’s popularity.