Sweden's Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis celebrates winning gold in the men's pole vault final at the European Championships at the Olympic Stadium. Sven Hoppe/dpaDPAMon, December 1, 2025 at 8:11 AM UTC·2 min readSwedish pole vault star Mondo Duplantis and US sprint sensation Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone were named male and female World Athletes of the Year at the World Athletics Awards 2025 in Monaco on Sunday.
Duplantis, 26, went undefeated across 16 competitions in 2025 and broke the world pole vault record four times, raising it to 6.3 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe is the first male pole vaulter in modern history to go undefeated for two successive years.
"This is such a huge honour," Duplantis said. "I hope to keep pushing it. I hope to keep irritating everyone who has to vote for me for years to come."
"I hope that I can inspire the next generation to try athletics, and even pole vaulting," he added.
McLaughlin-Levrone also enjoyed an unbeaten season in both the 400m flat and 400m hurdles, extending her winning streak in the latter to 24 races.
The 26-year-old won the world 400m title in Tokyo in a North American record of 47.78 seconds, breaking a 42-year-old championship record with the second-fastest time ever, and added gold in the 4x400m relay.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Track and field is, I believe, the best sport in the world," McLaughlin-Levrone said. "I want to continue to show the world that we are some of the best athletes around."
"For me, 2025 was a year of stepping outside of the comfort zone and pushing the bounds of what was mentally and physically possible. I want to continue pushing boundaries in 2026," she said.
Both also topped their discipline categories. Duplantis in men's field and McLaughlin-Levrone in women's track.
Other winners were Kenya's world 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi in men's track, Australia's high jump gold medallist Nicola Olyslagers in women's field, and Spain's María Pérez and Kenya's Sabastian Sawe in the out-of-stadium category.
USA's gold-medallist Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone celebrates her victory after the Women's 400 meters final race during the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025. Oliver Weiken/dpaAdvertisementAdvertisement
