Swedish Pole Vaulter Mondo Duplantis Mimics Turkish Shooter Yusuf Dikec’s Pose After Winning Gold & Breaking World Record

Oscar Wilde once said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”.

If that is the case, we think Swedish pole vaulter Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis gave the highest form of praise after learning that he had won a gold medal on Monday (Aug 5).

The 24-year-old was seen making a pistol with his right hand and sticking his left hand down his tights, a nod to Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec.

Looks like this is just the start of athletes taking on Yusuf’s pose after each achievement.

Yusuf went viral last week after his nonchalant pose captured everyone’s attention and going on to win a silver medal alongside teammate Sevval Ilayda Tarhan in the 10-meter air pistol event.

Save for his relaxed pose when taking his shot, the 51-year-old was also credited for competing in a plain white t-shirt, foregoing specialised lenses compared to other athletes.

In response to the homage, Yusuf congratulated Armand on X, formerly known as Twitter, and reposted a picture of the gold medalist imitating his pose.

Even Team Turkey celebrated the two Olympians on X and posted pictures of the two icons saying how they have inspired the world.

Netizens praised the two with some saying that Yusuf had “single-handedly united everyone”.

However, some believe Mondo’s pose is his response to not only breaking his own record an impressive nine times but also being the first man to retain a gold in the pole vault since Bob Richards in 1956.

Mondo not only won the gold medal, but also set a new world record with his jump of 6.25m.

Photos Mediacorp, mondo_duplantis/IG, yusufdikecofficial/IG

Catch Armand Duplantis’ gold-medal winning moments on mewatch.

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