Mondo Duplantis' fiancée — Swedish model Desiré Inglander — motivated him to learn Swedish

TOKYO (AP) — As every second-language learner knows, Louisiana-born Armand “Mondo” Duplantis needed motivation to learn — in his case — Swedish.

The globe saw his inspiration Monday at Japan's National Stadium when he clambered into the stands after setting a world record in the pole vault, hugged his fiancée — Swedish model Desiré Inglander — and followed up with a made-for-Hollywood kiss and embrace.

It’s notable that what seemed to be Duplantis’ first interview after his record at the world championships was with Swedish television in the stands — a very brief one in between the hugs and kisses with Desiré, family and friends.

He called meeting Desiré in 2020 his "most important” factor in gaining fluency.

“That made it actually decent," he joked.

There were other educational moments, of course. He grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the southern United States with a Swedish mother and an American dad. There were those summers with grandparents in Sweden and, a decision to compete internationally for Sweden with all that entails.

"I’m marrying a Swedish girl — and her family is of course all Swedish,” Duplantis explained. "I've had to make sure that the Swedish was on par — up to game enough — to make sure when we’re having family dinners or whatnot, just hanging out, that I can go with the flow with everything.”

He has only a mild southern accent. But when speaking in Swedish, he described his accent as “very weird" in a country where he said even local accents change markedly depending on the location.

“Obviously my American accent seeps through very, very hard I think."

Duplantis' Swedish is strong enough to do interviews in the language, make television appearances and do promotions. When you ask a few Swedes, they call him “fluent.”

“They're probably being very, very kind,” he replied.

Duplantis was asked if he felt extra pressure from the Swedish public to keep setting records.

The question was prompted by a comment reportedly made by American vaulter Sam Kendricks. Kendricks was the silver medalist behind Duplantis a year ago at the Paris Olympics. He was also the last to win the world title — in Doha in 2019 — before Duplantis took over.

Monday was the 14th time Duplantis has set the world record.

“I think that's probably a lack of understanding of Swedish culture to think that the expectations are super high on me as far as the Swedes are concerned,” Duplantis replied. “I think they're (Swedes) not the most harsh in that kind of way. I have no complaints."

“I think that a lot of people expect world records out of me a lot of the time,” he added. “I think that there's also a pretty fair reason for that too because I've broken the record a lot of times. And I've shown that whenever the conditions are right, I'm really up for it.”

Ditto for Mondo speaking Swedish.

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Sweden's Armand Duplantis celebrates after making a clearance to break the world record after winning gold in the men's pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Sweden's Armand Duplantis celebrates with United States' Sam Kendricks and Greece's Emmanouil Karalis after making a clearance to break the world record after winning gold in the men's pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Sweden's Armand Duplantis competes in the men's pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

A fan holds a sign for Sweden's Armand Duplantis as he prepares to attempt setting a new men's pole vault world record of 6.30 meters, at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Sweden's Armand Duplantis kisses his girlfriend Desire Inglander after setting a new men's pole vault world record of 6.30 meters, at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Caleb Foster and Duke proved St. John's hasn't quite cornered the market on tenacity.

Foster returned from a broken foot and rescued the Blue Devils' national title hopes, helping the NCAA Tournament's top seed rally from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat St. John's 80-75 on Friday night and advance to the Elite Eight.

Playing less than three weeks after surgery on his left foot, Foster scored all of his 11 points in the second half. When Cayden Boozer's ballhandling struggles were allowing the Red Storm to extend their lead, Foster came in and turned the game back in Duke's favor.

“To be honest, he had no business playing tonight — 99 percent of guys do not come back to play under the circumstances of what’s happened to him,” Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer said. “It was incredible the way he willed us.”

Isaiah Evans scored 25 points and Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (35-2), who extended the nation's longest active winning streak to 14, but not before the fifth-seeded Red Storm (30-7) pushed Duke to the wire.

Duke will face second-seeded UConn in Sunday’s East Region final.

The Blue Devils led 77-74 with 32.4 seconds left when Cameron Boozer missed the front end of a one-and-one. Zuby Ejiofor drew a foul at the other end with 14.7 seconds to play, but the St. John's standout — who finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists — made only one of two free throws.

Evans also made one of two, giving the Red Storm one last chance to tie it, down 78-75. But Dylan Darling — whose layup at the buzzer against Kansas in the previous round put St. John's in the Sweet 16 — missed badly from well beyond the arc. Boozer made two free throws with 1.5 seconds left.

It was just the second loss for St. John's coach Rick Pitino in 14 visits to the Sweet 16 — and just the second loss for this season's Red Storm in their final 23 games.

After a relatively sure-handed first half, the Blue Devils were sloppy to start the second. A turnover by Cameron Boozer led to a dunk by Ejiofor. Then Boozer’s brother Cayden had the ball stolen near midcourt by Darling and Ejiofor dunked again to put St. John’s up 48-44.

A Duke timeout did little to help. Another turnover by Cayden Boozer led to a layup by Ejiofor. Then 6-foot-11 Ruben Prey sank his fourth 3-pointer in four attempts, and suddenly the Red Storm were up 53-44.

Duke countered by inserting Foster for Cayden Boozer. He helped steady the offense, and the Blue Devils went to a zone on defense. They trailed by 10 before beginning their comeback.

A 3-pointer by Evans put Duke ahead at 63-62. Bryce Hopkins answered with a 3 for St. John’s. Then an acrobatic layup by Evans tied it — and the chase was on.

“They’re one of the most physical teams we played all year. It’s something we talked about every single day, just their physicality, their pressure,” Cameron Boozer said. “I thought we did a pretty good job overall. We had some stretches where we gave them a run with turnovers, but through the game overall we did a pretty good job weathering the storm.”

Dillon Mitchell dunked home a missed free throw to put St. John’s up 69-67. Then Evans made another 3, prompting Pitino to turn his back in apparent disbelief. Cameron Boozer banked in a shot from a tough angle while being fouled with 3:06 to play. The free throw put the Blue Devils up by four.

Foster's pullup jumper put Duke ahead 75-69. Ejiofor responded with a 3 for St. John's, but Foster's driving layup made it 77-72, and the Blue Devils held on.

“It was our defense that broke down,” Pitino said. “It wasn’t so much not being in the right place. We just got bullied to the basket. They do that to a lot of teams. That’s why they’re the No. 1-ranked team in the country. We couldn’t defend the bully drives.”

As expected, St. John's applied pressure from the start, contesting just about every inch of the court. Duke had some of the same problems Kansas did in the previous round, with inbounding the ball an adventure early.

Eventually, the Blue Devils settled in and led 35-28 following an 18-5 run, but four St. John's 3-pointers later, the Red Storm were up 40-39 at halftime.

After shooting just 11 of 35 from long distance against Kansas, St. John's was 9 of 18 in the first half Friday. That included a 3 by Mitchell, who was 0 for 14 from beyond the arc on the season, and a 3-for-3 showing by Prey, who came in averaging 4.1 points per game.

Pitino suggested NCAA organizers change the postgame protocol that had the winning team going to the podium first.

“You should have the losing team go first because you left us disappointed in the locker room while the other team’s celebrating — rightfully so,” he said. “You should let the losing team go first and then let the winning team have as long as you want. Just a suggestion because you just left us hanging out there for over a half-hour.”

St. John's: This was Ejiofor's fourth season of college basketball and the fifth for Hopkins, so the Red Storm could look a lot different next season.

Duke: The Blue Devils are 3-2 against UConn in the NCAA Tournament but have lost the last two, including the 1999 title game.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

St. John's head coach Rick Pitino reacts during the second half against Duke in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Duke guard Isaiah Evans (3) reacts to a three pointer against St. John's during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Duke guard Caleb Foster (1) looks to pass against St. John's during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

St. John's forward Dillon Mitchell (1) and St. John's guard Oziyah Sellers (4) leave the court after their loss to Duke in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

St. John's forward Bryce Hopkins leaves the court after the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Duke, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Duke forward Cameron Boozer (12) reaches for the ball as time expires during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against St. John's, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Duke guard Caleb Foster (1) drives past St. John's guard Dylan Darling (0) during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)