Mondo Duplantis takes jab at Grand Slam Track’s financial flop
At the World Athletics awards presentation on Sunday, the GOAT of pole vaulting took home top honours and called out Michael Johnson during his acceptance speech
Kevin Morris
At the World Athletics awards ceremony in Monaco on Sunday, it was no surprise that the Male Athlete of the Year award went to Swedish-American pole vault superstar Mondo Duplantis. According to The Guardian, the world record holder used his acceptance speech to emphasize his pride in competing in field events and take a subtle jab at Grand Slam Track (GST), which did not include field events.
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“There was another tour that tried to exclude field events,” Duplantis said, referring to GST’s rocky inaugural season. “That didn’t go so well, did it? I am very proud to represent field events.”
His remark comes just days after news emerged that GST offered vendors only 50 per cent of the millions it owes in an effort to avoid bankruptcy. As of October, GST owed vendors US$8 million. World Athletics, which is reportedly owed nearly US$40,000 for licensing fees, rejected this proposal, insisting that GST prioritize paying athletes. More than US$5 million in athlete payments remains outstanding, even after GST received emergency funds to pay athletes half of what they are owed.
Representation for field events
Duplantis’ broader point also rings true. Field events, which run simultaneously with track races and often stretch over long time frames, are frequently overlooked. Even Athlos, the all-women’s track meet launched in 2024, opened with only track events and added just one field event, long jump, in its second year.
For the Athlete of the Year award, Duplantis beat a strong field that included world 200m champion Noah Lyles, Kenya’s 800m world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, London Marathon and Berlin Marathon champion Sabastian Sawe, and world marathon champion Alphonce Simbu.
Duplantis, who broke his world record four times in 2025, most recently clearing 6.30m to win the world championship title in Tokyo, said, “I just love pushing myself and pushing boundaries.”
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins controversial athlete of the year honours
On the women’s side, world 400m hurdles record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone claimed top honours, largely for her breakthrough in the flat 400m. McLaughlin-Levrone won the world title in Tokyo in a stunning 47.78 seconds–the second-fastest time ever and a North American record.
But her win reignited a major debate. For the women’s track award, McLaughlin-Levrone was named a finalist alongside Femke Bol of the Netherlands, the world 400m hurdles champion. The announcements of the finalists last month received criticism after triple world sprint gold medallist Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, along with Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet, were left out of the running completely.
Many track fans argued that Jefferson-Wooden (the first American woman and only the second woman ever to win the 100m, 200m, 4x100m titles at worlds) or Chebet (5,000m and 10,000m world champion and the first woman to break 14 minutes in the 5,000m) were more deserving of the honour.
