Mondo Duplantis proposes to Desire Inglander on Hamptons beach

Leaping more than six metres in the air might feel like a terrifying feat for mere mortals, but for pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis, getting down on one knee was far scarier.

On Wednesday this week, the Swedish American pole vaulter, 24, - affectionately known as 'Mondo' - proposed to his long term Swedish girlfriend Desiré Inglander, who he famously rushed over to after securing his gold medal at the Paris Olympics this summer. 

Mondo meticulously planned the secret proposal to his content creator girlfriend, 23, in the glitzy Hamptons - telling her the couple taking part in a stylish Vogue Scandinavia photoshoot.

In an interview with the magazine, he revealed how nerves kicked in as the moment neared on Wednesday this week - after he'd told her they were merely taking part in a regular fashion photoshoot. 

However, with the sun setting on the horizon, Mondo got down on one knee and popped the question. 

He told Vogue Scandinavia: 'I was more nervous than at the Olympics'. 

And it seems his now wife-to-be had no idea either. 

She told the publication: 'I’m still shocked. I'm such a control freak, it’s impossible to surprise me.'

However, the pole vaulting star had another surprise up his sleeve - he'd brought their respective families, from Louisiana and Sweden, along to celebrate their happy news. 

In the summer, the couple provided one of the moments of the Olympics, when they passionately embraced after the Swedish American pole vaulter broke the world record to win gold. 

The two threw their arms around each other to embrace in a celebratory hug and movie-worthy kiss.

Indeed, Mondo was so fired up while hugging one of his countrymen that the pair began shoving and even punching each other in the chest. 

The record breaker then proved a full patriotic spirit by wearing the Swedish flag around his shoulders. 

The athlete has been in a long-term relationship with Desire, from Sweden, where Armand's mother is originally from, for nearly four years.

The loved-up pair reportedly met in 2020 at a Midsummer party in Sweden in 2020, during the festival that celebrates the longest day of the year, where the sun never sets in the country. 

The two then hit it off, amid a few hiccups regarding language barriers and cultural difference - with Armand having grown up in the US and Desire, Sweden. 

Speaking in an interview to Sportbladet, Armand described the beginning of the couple's romance.

'She probably did not think I had good intentions at the start. I had to prove over time that I was a respectable young man, ha! And that I would treat her with respect. It won her over, I think,' he admitted cheekily.

The two now appear very much in love, with both of them regularly posting sweet affectionate pictures on their respective social media posts. 

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Mondo's journey into vaulting started when he was a child in his family's backyard after being inspired by his father, Greg, who also had a background in the sport.

His father, who is American, previously held a pole vaulting height of 5.80m after his own career earlier in life.

Meanwhile, his Swedish mother, Helena, is a former hepthathlete and volleyball player.

Armand comes from a whole family of athletes with his older brother, Andreas, having represented Sweden as a pole vaulter at the 2009 World Youth Championships and at the same event in 2012.

By the age of 17, the Olympian had already surpassed his father's personal best, and finally made a breakthrough shortly after when he won the European outdoor title in Berlin with a world junior record vault of 6.05 meters. 

Armand is is one of only eleven athletes to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event.