By Lori Ewing
Aug 21 (Reuters) – Already one of athletics’ biggest stars, Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis is now providing the soundtrack too, with the double Olympic pole vault champion releasing the official anthem for World Athletics’ inaugural Ultimate Championship.
The track, titled “Gold”, was written and performed by the world-record-holder and released globally on major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music, on Friday.
The song will be the signature soundtrack of the inaugural Ultimate Championship, which is being held from September 11 to 13 in Budapest and will feature the world’s best athletes competing for a share of a $10 million prize fund.
“I wrote the song around representing something that’s a lot bigger than yourself,” Duplantis said in a statement. “I think that’s what we all do when we’re on the track. We represent our family, our team, our coaches and I love that concept.”
The accompanying music video, filmed in Budapest, features footage from across Duplantis’ career, including clips of pole vaulting as a youngster, along with appearances by family, friends and fellow athletes.
Duplantis, who is represented by Sony Music Sweden, has pursued music alongside his athletics career and has accumulated more than 11 million streams on Spotify.
He has released half a dozen songs, his first being “Bop” in February 2025.
The 26-year-old will perform “Gold” live at the close of the Ultimate Championship.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the event, which will be held every two years, is designed to showcase the personalities and talents of athletics’ biggest stars on and off the track in the hope of drawing younger fans to the sport.
“It’s a massive global sporting championship, and it felt appropriate to have an anthem that serves to inspire our audiences and fans across the world written and performed by one of the greats,” Coe said.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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