After a long build-up, the heavily anticipated track and field crossover race finally occurred between Mondo Duplantis and Karsten Warholm. The pole vault king, Mondo, took the win with a personal best of 10.37 seconds, leaving Warholm to trail behind with his own PB of 10.47 seconds. Close? Sure. But no cigar. Warholm’s effort, while impressive, just wasn’t enough to outshine the Swedish sensation. And Mondo? Well, he didn’t exactly roll in solo.

Mondo Duplantis arrived at the Letzigrund Stadium for the race with an entire entourage of athletes by his side. He had Sha’Carri Richardson, Letsile Tebogo, Fred Kerley, Vernon Norwood, and Renaud Lavillenie with him. These athletes have a combined total of 12 Olympic medals. When asked about them, Mondo said, “I brought speed with me.” When Karsten Warholm was asked whether he felt overwhelmed by the presence of all these athletes, he replied that it was not a popularity contest. But that didn’t matter—Duplantis had trained well to take him on. Although Sha’Carri is the closest to Mondo, as they were friends during their LSU days, it was actually Fred Kerley who helped him the most in his victory.

Fred Kerley, the Olympic silver medalist in the 100m at the 2021 Olympics and bronze medalist in the same event at the 2024 Olympics, can now add the distinction of coaching to his resume. He helped Mondo Duplantis defeat Karsten Warholm in the 100m race, as the two men linked up to train together in preparation for the event.

After the race, track and field writer Ken Stone took to X, posting, “Give @fkerley99 credit for @mondohoss600 beating @kwarholm in 100 just now (with impressive 10.37). Fred helped coach Mondo to his blazing start.” The tweet caught Kerley’s attention, and he proudly quoted it with, “Coach Kerley in the building.” Clearly enjoying his first stint as a mentor, Fred later posted, “First dub as a coach.” Not to be outdone, Mondo joined in on the fun, responding to another post about Kerley’s coaching with a fitting, “Just Means More.”

Mondo Duplantis recounted how he had casually run into Fred Kerley at the hotel in Lausanne and asked when he’d be doing block starts. When Kerley mentioned 2 o’clock, Duplantis quickly agreed to join him. What began as a chance encounter turned into a valuable training session for the pole vaulter. Duplantis explained that training with Kerley was just what he needed after practicing alone for so long, noting how the presence of someone with that much speed made a real difference. He described how the session felt right and gave him the extra edge he was seeking.

Mondo said, “We were doing some blocks, and then we watched a video together, and he was giving me some pointers and stuff and like gave me a few mental pointers and drills and whatnot as far as like reaction time in those first few steps and then maybe even block positioning also because I was weighing in a little bit… I watch what other people do. I’m kind of just imitating people, but it was nice to get a little bit of advice of positioning and stuff in the blocks.”

And the results spoke for themselves—Mondo’s improved start helped him clock in at an impressive 10.37 seconds, leaving Warholm in his wake. Seeing Fred Kerley coaching Mondo was a surprising twist, especially since, when the crossover race was first announced, Kerley had been eager to compete himself, saying, “Let me do a 1v1 in 150 vs anybody.” That challenge might still happen, but for now, Fred was happy to help the two-time Swedish pole vaulting Olympic champion.

Mondo’s win and Kerley’s successful coaching debut made everyone happy—except for Karsten Warholm. As for the loser’s forfeit? Let’s just say it’s shaping up to be way more outrageous than anyone expected!

Karsten Warholm must perform a risky forfeiture after the loss to Mondo Duplantis

As a result of the loss, Karsten Warholm now faces a forfeit that cuts deep into his sense of nationalism. He’ll have to don a Sweden jersey during his next 400m hurdles event in the Diamond League, a race that’s especially important for him. To add to the drama, Mondo Duplantis personally handed over the jersey. Though Warholm handled his defeat with some grace, his frustration was still evident, as he let out a string of expletives, shouting, “F–k, F–k, F–k.”

For Warholm, 2024 has been a rollercoaster. He claimed gold at the European Athletics Championships but fell short at the Paris Olympics, taking silver behind Rai Benjamin. Now, with this defeat to Duplantis added to the mix, he’ll need to secure victory at the Diamond League final in Zurich to redeem his season. However, wearing Sweden’s colors may be a tough pill to swallow! What do you think? Share in the comments below!