Emmanouil Karalis, an Olympic bronze medallist at the Paris Olympics, on Sunday became the first Greek pole vaulter to have jumped higher than 6 meters.
The Greek athlete was competing at the Wanda Diamond League competition in Silesia, Poland.
“Legendary Emmanuel Karalis! He became the first Greek to break the 6-meter barrier in the pole vault. The previous record of 5.93 was his since last June,” the Hellenic Olympic Committee commented on Facebook.
Karalis’ 6,00 metre jump placed him third at the event, after U.S.A. pole vaulter Sam Kendricks who also jumped 6,00 metres. Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis came in first with a 6,26 metres jump, breaking the previous world record of 6.25m which he owned, set at the Paris Olympic Games.
“Another man joins the 6 meter club,” a commentator was heard saying about Karalis’ spectacular jump. “And who knows how much higher this fella can go in the next couple of years!”
Karalis wins bronze medal for Paris Olympics jump
Earlier this month, Emmanouil Karalis came in 3rd in the pole vault competition at the Paris Olympics with a 5.90 meter jump.
The Greek pole vaulter easily passed the 5.80 meter mark and was just as successful in clearing the 5.85 meter vault. He then continued on with the 5.90 meters, breaking his personal record of 5.87 meters. He failed in the 5.95 meter jump and went straight for the 6.00 meter but unfortunately didn’t make it.
Karalis arrived at the 2024 Paris Olympics fresh from winning the silver medal in the pole vault competition with a personal record of 5.87 meters, which he achieved on the last day of the European Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on June 12.
His Olympic bronze medal was among eight won by Greek athletes in six events in Paris. Greek champions have also won one gold and one silver at the 33rd modern Olympiad.
Diamond League action to continue in Brussels
The Wanda Diamond League is athletics’ premier one-day series. The competition includes 15 of the sport’s most prestigious one-day meetings, with men and women competing in 16 primary disciplines.
Athletes compete for points at 14 series meetings from April to September, with the most successful in each discipline qualifying for the Wanda Diamond League Final which will take place in Brussels, September 13-14, 2024.
All 32 Diamond League Champions -one man and one woman in each of the 16 disciplines- are crowned over two days of athletics action. Each champion is awarded a prestigious “Diamond Trophy”, 30,000 US dollars prize money and a wild card for the World Athletics Championships.
