One of Us highlights celebrities, entertainers, and public figures who once competed in track & field. Before the spotlight, they were lining up in the same lanes, jumping in the same pits, and running the same races as athletes across the country.
Last week World Athletics announced that pole vault world record holder Mondo Duplantis will write and record an original theme song for this summer's World Ultimate Track and Field Championship. Duplantis has released a couple of singles and is possibly the sport's most high-profile athlete, so that makes sense.
But if World Athletics wanted to tap a pole vaulter with creating a smash hit pop song to soundtrack a global championship, they had other options. Namely, a young man by the name of Benson Boone. (Here he is at the 2025 GRAMMY Awards-be sure to clock fellow former track and field athlete Jennifer Lopez sitting at his table at the beginning of the performance.)
Though Boone's athletic pedigree isn't exactly on Duplantis' level (more on that in a moment), by virtue of having landed a song at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 2024, he's cleared a significantly higher bar Mondo in terms of musical accomplishment... now that you're done groaning over that vaulting pun, let's dive a bit further into Boone's musical fame.
"Beautiful Things" is the lead single off of Boone's debut album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, which went as high as number six on the Billboard album charts and went platinum. Four additional songs off the album appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 as well. Boone's full-length follow-up, 2025's American Heart peaked at number two on the Billboard album charts and sent three singles into the Billboard Hot 100. And he has checked the box every burgeoning pop idol dreams of: he's opened for Taylor Swift.
But before Boone became the global pop sensation he is today, he was a kid from Monroe, Washington, a commuter town about 30 miles outside of Seattle in the foothills of the Cascades. At Monroe High School he was an athlete. His focus in that realm was on diving-he placed sixth in the Washington state meet in the one-meter dive-but he also competed for Monroe in track and field, primarily as a pole vaulter, and even for a season of cross country.
During Boone's freshman year, the acrobatic youngster registered results across a few junior varsity cross country races, capping the season off with a 20:00.48 5k season's best at the WESCO/Cascade Championships.
His aptitude for launching himself into the air then contorting himself while up there became apparent come outdoor season, which culminated for Boone with a win in the pole vault at the WESCO 4A JV Championships.
Evidently deterred from a second season of cross country-or choosing to instead focus on one of a handful of other pursuits he'd already demonstrated great promise in... who knows?-Boone returned to the runway for one final outdoor pole vaulting season. He opened his sophomore campaign with a 10-00 clearance then steadily raised the bar, wrapping up his season with a very respectable fourth-place, 12-6 PR showing at the WESCO 4A Boys Championship later that season.
Last week World Athletics announced that pole vault world record holder Mondo Duplantis will write and record an original theme song for this summer's World Ultimate Track and Field Championship. Duplantis has released a couple of singles and is possibly the sport's most high-profile athlete, so that makes sense.
But if World Athletics wanted to tap a pole vaulter with creating a smash hit pop song to soundtrack a global championship, they had other options. Namely, a young man by the name of Benson Boone. (Here he is at the 2025 GRAMMY Awards-be sure to clock fellow former track and field athlete Jennifer Lopez sitting at his table at the beginning of the performance.)
Track & field has shaped countless athletes long before they became household names. One of Us looks back at the track & field careers of celebrities who once competed in the sport — proving that no matter where life takes them, they started as one of us.
