08/21/26 05:03:00
Printable Page
08/21 05:01 CDT Mondo can sing, too: Duplantis releases 'Gold' as anthem for
Ultimate Championship
Mondo can sing, too: Duplantis releases 'Gold' as anthem for Ultimate
Championship
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) --- Swedish pole vaulter Armand "Mondo" Duplantis is
singing about his favorite color in a promotion for the first Ultimate
Championship.
The two-time Olympic champion released "Gold" with World Athletics on Friday as
the anthem of the upcoming meet that boasts a total prize fund of $10 million.
Ultimate Championship will be staged in Budapest from Sept. 11-13 showcasing
Olympic, world and Diamond League champions over three evening sessions. Gold
medalists in individual events will win $150,000.
The 26-year-old Duplantis has dabbled in music for several years and released
his first single, "Bop," in 2025.
Duplantis, the world-record holder, says he dreams of winning a Grammy.
"Gold" was written by Duplantis with Carl Silvergran and Oscar Chase, and was
produced by Chase, the World Athletics announcement said.
"I wrote the song around representing something that's a lot bigger than
yourself," Duplantis said in the announcement. "I think that's what we all do
when we're on the track. We represent our family, our team, our coaches, and I
love that concept. Music and sports are the two things that bring people
together in the best way, and ?Gold' is an expression of that."
The accompanying music video was filmed in the Hungarian capital and includes
archival footage of Duplantis as a young athlete.
The Louisiana-born Duplantis told the Olympics channel last year he uses his
music "as a way of therapy. I really love to have something else to be able to
do, and to kind of take myself away from sports a little bit."
At the Ultimate Championship, his new song "will be woven into the broadcast
and live-event experience, connecting fans in-stadium with audiences around the
world," World Athletics said.
Duplantis is scheduled to perform "Gold" live in-stadium to close out the event.
"The Ultimate is purposefully designed to showcase the talents and passions of
our sport's biggest stars, on and off the track," World Athletics President
Sebastian Coe said. "Mondo is one of our most recognizable and accomplished
athletes, and we could not be more excited that he is the one who created the
Ultimate Anthem."
The championship will be a biennial event.
___
See full AP coverage of European sports here
|