Mondo Duplantis is doing his routine, something he does best – breaking the world record for the nth time. Yet every attempt still feels improbable. On Monday night in Tokyo, the Swedish pole vaulter produced his 14th world record, clearing 6.30 meters on his final attempt to defend his world title for a third time. The crowd of 57,000 stayed late into the night, long after other events had concluded, just to watch him try. And Duplantis gifted his fans with exactly their expectations and more – to witness a historic moment. One that came with $70,000 for the victory and another $100,000 for the record. But not everyone in the sport is entirely comfortable with how often he delivers these moments.

That unease, at least in jest, was voiced by the man who runs the sport. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe suggested that Duplantis’ dominance might be getting a bit expensive. “I have actually told him that one more world record, World Athletics loses its Christmas party, two more world records, we lose the summer party! There are 105 people hoping that we don’t have too many more world records at this juncture,” Coe said on Sunday, in the post-Championship presser in Japan. 

Duplantis had already secured gold with a first-time clearance at 6.15 meters. But that was not the bar he set for himself. On his third try at 6.30, he soared once again, extending his hold on a discipline he has ruled since taking the world record from Renaud Lavillenie in February 2020. Four world records in 2025 alone is the most he has managed in a single year. And this has indeed made things tough for Coe. As he stated, “nine days of just outstanding athletics” and “a championships of the ages.”

Yet his standout memory was not simply the bar being cleared, but the scale of the audience’s response. “Not one of them left at the end of that track session,” Coe recalled. “And then we also did find ourselves politely suggesting that some of them might want to leave half an hour after the world record and sort of go home. That’s a high-class problem to have, believe me.”

For Duplantis, the calculation is straightforward. With $100,000 offered for a world record on top of gold medal prize money, the pursuit is worth the risk. “It’s better than I could have imagined. To give you guys this world record is amazing. I’m just so happy,” he told the crowd late Monday night. The 25-year-old has been on the rampage as he has clinched eight back-to-back global titles both indoors and outdoors combined. While Duplantis has been cashing in on the federation’s six-figure incentive, his sponsor Puma also voiced their earnest request to Mondo echoing Coe’s take.

Why is Puma exasperated with Duplantis’ constant record-breaks?

Armand Duplantis had turned the art of world record progression into a profitable ritual. But guess what, his partnership with Puma plays an important role in this narrative. How? Well, each time Mondo raises the bar by a single centimetre, Duplantis is entitled to a hefty bonus from PUMA. Back in Budapest, after Duplantis broke his record once again, PUMA took to their social media and jokingly wrote,“Please give us a rest 🥺.”

It was way back in 2019 when PUMA roped in Duplantis. And ever since then, they have been shelling out the bonuses. Earlier, Citius Mag noted bluntly, “PUMA keeps shelling out these world record bonuses to Mondo Duplantis 💰.” The scale of these payouts was never officially confirmed, yet the visible reaction from his sponsor revealed the financial weight behind his incremental strategy. Diamond League rules stated that a minimum of $50,000 for each world record was guaranteed. But it was the PUMA’s bonuses that made the Swedish athlete come into limelight.

Even officials within the brand acknowledged the long-term value of their investment. “We are confident that Mondo will leave a huge and memorable mark in the sport of track and field, as have many of our athletes,” said Pascal Rolling, Global Head of Running Sports Marketing at Puma. Yet, Duplantis might just leave a hole in Puma’s pocket soon enough if he doesn’t tone down his record-breaking ways by a notch.