Johanna Duplantis is the latest member of the legendary pole vault family to go pro in track and field. The younger sister of Mondo Duplantis already landed a Puma sponsorship during her first season.
She joins a talented group of high-profile athletes on the brand roster even though she has yet to debut.
It will be fun to see whether this brother-sister duo can both reach the podium together at the same track and field meet. We know Mondo is going to be up there. Will Johanna be able to match him?
Who is Johanna Duplantis?
The Duplantis family has deep ties to pole vault. They mostly represent Sweden even though they all grew up in Louisiana.
Greg Duplantis, the patriarch, qualified four times for the U.S. Olympic Trials as a four-year letter-winner at LSU. His wife, Helena, competed in the heptathlon for the Tigers.
Their children followed in their footsteps.
Andreas, the eldest son, was one of the greatest high school pole vaulters in state history. He also qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships at LSU like his mom and dad.
Antoine decided not to continue with pole vault after high school. The middle of three brothers instead played college baseball for the Bayou Bengals.
Mondo Duplantis, the little brother, is already considered the greatest pole vaulter of all-time. The 25-year-old consistently breaks his own world record by just one single centimeter to rack up as many $100,00 bonuses as possible. His goal is to one day get the bar to 6.40 meters.
And then there is Johanna Duplantis.
She is the youngest of four siblings and the only girl. She also competes in pole vault.
Puma runs pole vaults in the family…
Johanna qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in walk-off fashion as a senior at LSU to continue her family legacy. Her clearance of 4.39 meters was the No. 2 height in school history and the highest jump from a Swede this year.
Five out of six members of the Duplantis family competed at the collegiate track and field national championships. The only one who didn’t played baseball!
With her time at LSU now in the past, Johanna will make her professional debut at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial — a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting — in Budapest on Tuesday. She, like big brother Mondo, will be sponsored by Puma.
They are together in Hungary!
It is a very big deal for Johanna Duplantis to land such a high-profile sponsorship deal as a rookie. The 23-year-old joins an impressive roster of track and field athletes signed to Puma.
Will she live up to the hype? An 11th-place finish at NCAA Outdoors does not necessarily provide a positive outlook for immediate success. Johanna’s season best vault of 4.39 meters falls .52 meters short of the world lead. She needs to go bigger than she ever has before to podium at Istvan Gyulai.