Why Olympic darling Armand Duplantis chose Sweden over United States

Some Americans are upset that Mondo mania could have been part of the Team USA narrative at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Aug 5, 2024: Armand Duplantis celebrates after winning the men's pole vault final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

U-S-Nay.

Armand Duplantis’ iconic world-record setting pole vault in front of a frenzied Stade de France after already securing a gold medal will go down as one of the most memorable moments from the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

MONDO DUPLANTIS ENDS THE NIGHT WITH A NEW WORLD RECORD. 🌎 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/0egeRdxphW

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2024

Gravity? Never heard of it. pic.twitter.com/xXTYFtwnwm

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 5, 2024

So then why wasn’t he wearing red, white, and blue for the United States given he grew up in Louisiana, is a dual citizen, and was a track and field star at LSU? Some users on social media were not pleased.

Is there a better “First Day of College” photo than this throwback from @LSUTrackField?

Mondo Duplantis and Sha’Carri Richardson arrived at LSU on the same day.

5 years later, they’re two of the brightest young stars in the Track-and-Field world. pic.twitter.com/ekwdDM8TzE

— Shea Dixon (@Sheadixon) August 5, 2024

Duplantis’ father, American Greg Duplantis, a former world-class pole vaulter himself, might be the main reason: not his Swedish mother Helena, a former heptathlete and volleyball player.

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It all started with his older brother Andreas, who was already competing for the Swedish national team in the pole vault. Younger brother Mondo originally wanted to stick with Team USA. Then the Swedish youth coach Jonas Anshelm upped the ante by offering Greg a job for the national track and field team. A couple of weeks later, Mondo’s dad changed Armand’s trajectory: “We’re on. We’ll go for Sweden.” You can watch the full story below.

And this is the norm for many elite athletes across many sports: choosing between two, sometimes even three countries. See Joel Embiid of the United States men’s national basketball team. It happens all the time. For American fans, they’re used to being the country chosen, not the one left on the sidelines.

Several other major factors that make Duplantis’ choice more compelling. It’s more lucrative for Duplantis to choose Sweden, given track and field is more of a prominent sport in Europe vs. the once every four years a broader American audience pays attention every time the Summer Olympics roll around. Lastly, Sweden chooses their Olympic athletes over the compilation of performance over several years, not the high-stakes drama of an all-for-one Olympic trial like in the United States.

RELATED: Olympic sensation Armand Duplantis’ uncanny Hollywood star comparison

Duplantis also is fully proud to be American, as this clip plainly shows.

American-born Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis stopped for the national anthem of the United States in between interviews after receiving his gold medal.@WCHoregon22 x #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/xfGZKceu22

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 25, 2022

So in the end, while Duplantis might have been wearing the colors of Sweden, Americans can be just as proud of his amazing moment in Paris.

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