POLE VAULTER • SWEDEN • 1999

Two-time Olympic champion, three-time World Champion, four-time World Indoor Champion, World Record holder athlete

Best results

Personal bests:

630 cm WR
2025, Tokyo
(outdoor)

631 cm WR
2026, Uppsala
(indoor)

15 x World Record holder
(7x outdoor, 8x indoor)

Olympic Games:

2x 1st place
2021, Tokyo: 602 cm
2024, Paris: 625 cm

World Championships:

3x 1st place
2021, Eugene: 621 cm
2023, Budapest: 610 cm
2025, Tokyo: 630 cm

Indoor World Championships:

4x 1st place
2022, Belgrade: 620 cm
2024, Glasgow: 605 cm
2025, Nanjing: 615 cm
2026, Toruń: 625 cm

The personal story of museum founder János Angyal about this pair of sport shoes

Our first meeting: 8 August 2022 – Gyulai István Memorial, Székesfehérvár
We travelled to the competition in the morning and luckily got to meet him in front of the hotel. I asked him for a photo, which he did in a friendly spirit. Due to the strong winds, he could not succeed above 6 metres at the competition, yet he was a huge success amongst the crowd. I asked for the cooperation of his manager, Daniel Wessfeldt, to receive the signed shoes of Duplantis and to place them in the Museum of Sport Shoes that honours the memory of István Gyulai. I have known Daniel for long, he was here at the Jumping Gala in Somoskő in 2004 as the manager of Stefan Holm, Olympic Champion of Athens. Mondo promised to gift me his spikes.

Our second meeting: 12 August 2025 – Gyulai István Memorial, Budapest
Waiting for this excellent moment took almost exactly three years but it was worth it: one of the greatest sports experiences of my life came true. I cheered for Duplantis with my family in the tribune sector closest to the pole vault in the National Athletics Centre. When the crossbar was set at 629 cm, the excitement took to new heights. The first attempt at the new world record was not successful but with the massive encouragement of the crowd, Duplantis made it over this ’cosmic’ height at the second attempt. Our delight knew no limits because he jumped the new world record, 629 cm, over the altius crossbar I developed, and our company produced. The photo including our crossbar and brand logo travelled all around the world: “altius, altius, altius” i.e. higher, higher, higher.

Eventually, the spike shoes arrived to me in Somoskő one week later, following the Diamond League Final in Zurich with the help of my friend, manager Alfons Juck. The long sought-after, precious relic finally took its place next to the other treasures in the Museum of Sport Shoes.