Olympic pole vault sensation Mondo Duplantis has secretly married his model girlfriend Desirée Inglander.
Inglander, 24, has been a constant presence in the stands supporting the champion athlete, 26, throughout his career – with their embrace after his triumph in Paris making headlines around the world.
The pair announced their engagement shortly after the Games, with Duplantis popping the question during a getaway in The Hamptons, and now the athlete has confirmed to Swedish outlet TT that they have tied the knot.
‘I don’t have the ring on yet and we’re going to have the real ceremony and wedding during the summer,’ he told Sport Bladet.
The pair officially married at Stockholm City Hall but will formally celebrate their marriage in France this summer. Swedish citizens who wish to marry abroad must first register the marriage in Sweden.
Duplantis was far from impressed when the organiser of the Bislett Games in Norway let slip that he will not be competing at the event on the weekend of June 13-14 because he will be in Cannes, France for the wedding ceremony instead.
Mondo Duplantis has secretly married his fiancee Desire Inglander in Stockholm, Sweden
The pair tied the knot as part of a legal ceremony before their wedding this summer
‘I might have wished he wouldn’t say anything. I was a little shocked that he said it, but that’s how it is,’ he said.
‘It is what it is. It’s a wedding and it happens once in a lifetime. If you miss one or two competitions – who cares? I’ve competed as many times as I want in the last five years. If I have to miss a competition because of a wedding and marry the love of my life, it doesn’t matter.’
Duplantis added that he feels ‘half-married’, given the event in Stockholm was a formality.
‘Yes, in a way. I feel half-married. But I don’t have the ring on. Not until the real ceremony in June. I’m holding on to the American tradition a bit and waiting for the ceremony.
‘It feels a little strange. I’m grateful for it, there’s a lot of love. But we’re trying to find a balance to keep it a little private. And it feels a little uncomfortable to talk about it.’
Duplantis meticulously planned his secret proposal to his content creator girlfriend in the glitzy Hamptons – telling her the couple were taking part in a stylish Vogue photoshoot.
In an interview with the magazine, he revealed how nerves kicked in as the moment neared – 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.
Inglander has been a constant presence at Duplantis’s side while he’s dominated pole vault
He told Vogue Scandinavia: ‘I was more nervous than at the Olympics’.
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 of 2024, 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.
