Greek pole vaulter Emmanouil Karalis won the silver medal in the World Athletics Championships, taking place in Japan, on Monday, falling behind World record holder Armand Duplantis.
Karalis cleared 6 meters and came breathtakingly close to clearing 6.15. He was over the bar, only to have it tremble and fall with the slightest of touches. Duplantis approached the same formidable height and, as he has done so many times before, made it look effortless, and claimed the gold medal.
The Greek champion was unsuccessful at 6.10 and at 6.20 later on as well.
Emmanouil Karalis’ meteoric rise in the pole vault
Karalis, the son of a Greek father from Pyrgos, and a Ugandan mother, once again proved 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.
In March 2025, he won the silver medal in the World Athletics Indoor Championships that took place in Nanjing, China.
Karalis broke a new Greek national record by clearing 6.05 meters, shattering his own national record of 6.02 meters. Duplantis won the gold by clearing 6.10 meters.
Earlier in March, he also won the first gold medal for Greece at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
He made no secret of his ambition for even greater achievements, saying:
“I strive for continuous improvement. Since I consistently clear 6 meters in every competition, my goal is to surpass 6.10 meters—after that, anything is possible. I believe in myself, I believe I can accomplish extraordinary things, and I will work relentlessly to make it happen.”
Related: Emmanouil Karalis Becomes First Greek Pole Vaulter To Jump 6m
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