The crowd in Silesia expected another seamless triumph from Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, but for a few fleeting moments, the spotlight belonged to Emmanouil Karalis. The Greek vaulter, whose 2025 campaign has already lifted him into the sport’s upper echelon, forced the world record holder into real trouble. One more clean attempt and Poland might have witnessed one of the season’s greatest upsets.
Karalis has turned 2025 into the defining year of his career. He began by seizing the European indoor title in Apeldoorn, sharing the crown with Menno Vloon, then reinforced his authority at the Balkan Championships with 5.92m. He has been a regular presence at six meters, a threshold once reserved for the absolute elite. Seven clearances beyond that mark now fill his ledger this year, including a 6.00m victory at Fly Athens and a silver at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, where he also set a Greek indoor record of 6.05m. Outdoors, his 6.08m clearance in Volos rewrote the national record books and placed him fourth on the world all-time list.
The duel in Silesia confirmed both his consistency and his nearness to the very top. Karalis cleared 6.00m with authority, positioning himself in direct contest with Duplantis. The Swede needed to vault 6.10m to hold him off, which he did, but not before the Greek vaulter made the night difficult. “Poland is my second home. My coach is Polish and I always enjoy competing here. I love pierogi, too,” Karalis remarked afterward, blending humor with a pointed recognition of his growing stature. More telling was his reflection on the standard he is now reaching: “Being consistent at 6 metres is not something I even dreamt of achieving and now I am doing it, attacking heights of 6.10. Yes, I definitely think I can go even higher and I think I can do better in Tokyo.”
Duplantis, meanwhile, remains the benchmark of the discipline. His latest 6.10m victory followed a string of world record extensions this year, most recently the 6.29m mark in Budapest only days earlier. He has now surpassed his own record three times in 2025 alone, climbing steadily toward 6.30m. Yet even in this state of dominance, the presence of Karalis adds a competitive tension that was absent in previous seasons. The Greek has narrowed the gap, not by one isolated clearance, but by repeatedly contesting the highest rungs of the bar.
Armand Mondo Duplantis (Image Credit: Instagram/@mondo_duplantis)
For Karalis, the World Championships in Tokyo next month loom as both challenge and opportunity. The lessons from Silesia underline his readiness to pressure Duplantis and anyone else in the field. He acknowledged, “There are some new things we want to try with my coach before the World Championships.” In a season shaped by Mondo Duplantis’s record-breaking feats, Karalis has become the figure most likely to bend the narrative. A few weeks back, Karalis opened up on conquering six meters and his pursuit of even higher goals.
Emmanouil Karalis Reflects on Six-Meter Breakthrough and Sets Sights on Greater Heights
Clearing six meters in the pole vault has long stood as a formidable measure of excellence, and Emmanouil Karalis reached that height only after years of persistence, frustration, and steady refinement. A few weeks ago, the Greek record holder paused to reflect on how arduous the road had been, recalling the repeated attempts that tested both his technique and his resilience. He admitted that the bronze medal in Paris served as an essential turning point, saying it “gave me fuel to jump even higher,” a phrase that revealed both relief and determination.
His breakthrough did not lead to contentment but to a recalibration of targets. Since his first clearance over six meters, Karalis has surpassed the mark on several occasions, culminating in a new national record of 6.05 metres. That performance confirmed his place among the sport’s leading figures, yet his response was not to rest but to define the next challenge. “So, the next barrier after 6.05 is 6.10,” he remarked plainly, a statement that carried more weight than its brevity suggested. For Karalis, progress is measured in centimetres, but the effort behind each one demands a reconsideration of balance, rhythm, and mental discipline.
What strikes him most now is not the loneliness of pursuit but the company he keeps within it. Having competed alongside Armand Duplantis and Sam Kendricks since his teenage years, Karalis regards their presence as both a spur and a privilege. “They keep pushing me to jump even higher,” he reflected, recognising that the rivalry has never diminished his respect for the era in which he finds himself. To him, the achievement of six metres was never an endpoint, only an introduction to the higher demands of the future.
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