Greece’s golden boy, Emmanouil Karalis, once again walked onto the podium after a 6.05-meter jump at the World Indoor Pole Vault Championships in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland on Saturday.
This time, the world champion, who had spectacularly cleared 6.17 meter earlier this year, finished second, losing to another world champion, Mondo Duplantis, who cleared 6.25 meters. Despite his efforts to match or surpass his previous 6.17-meter mark, Greece’s second-greatest pole vaulter of all time did not succeed. Karalis had to settle for the silver medal.
“I want to write my own history and achieve the world record,” he said on camera after the competition. Twelve athletes competed in the World Indoor Pole Vault Championship, including:
- Armand DUPLANTIS (SWE) – 6.25 CR
- Emmanouil KARALIS (GRE) – 6.05
- Kurtis MARSCHALL (AUS) – 6.00 =PB
- Sondre GUTTORMSEN (NOR) – 5.95
- Zachery BRADFORD (USA) – 5.95
- Baptiste THIERY (FRA) – 5.85
- Menno VLOON (NED) – 5.85 SB
- Thibaut COLLET (FRA) – 5.85 =SB
- Ernest John OBIENA (PHI) – 5.70
- Christopher NILSEN (USA) – 5.70
- Simen GUTTORMSEN (NOR) – 5.70
- David HOLÝ (CZE) – 5.50
Karalis’ jump on March 1st
The Greek pole vault Olympian and European Indoor Champion became the second-highest pole vaulter in history thanks to his incredible jump at the Greek Indoor Championships in Paiania on the outskirts of Athens on March 1st.
Karalis, Greece’s “Flying Manolo,” as many fans call him, cleared an astonishing 6.17 meters, having already set a world lead of 6.07 meters on his first attempt. This achievement once again broke the Greek indoor record for the remarkable athlete.
The 6.17 meters that Karalis cleared that day was a height previously only conquered by Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, a long-time friend and rival of Karalis. In fact, that day, Manolo attempted a spectacular 6.31 meters, aiming to surpass Duplantis’ 6.30-meter world record from the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where Karalis had won silver. Although he was unsuccessful in this endeavor, it remains one of his goals.
The rise to the top of a great athlete
Born on October 20, 1999, Emmanouil Karalis is the son of a Greek father from Pyrgos and a Ugandan mother. He is a member of the athletics department of Olympiacos FCP. Every time he competes, he proves that the future belongs to him in high-level races and major athletic events.
His future is already in motion, having begun in 2025 with six consecutive Panhellenic records and carried forward to the conquest of the European summit. Yet, the bronze medal he won in the 2024 Summer Olympics is his most glorious achievement. The 2028 Summer Olympics will likely be his new pinnacle.
