What did you do, Manolo!
Emmanouil Karalis isn’t just continuing to raise the bar. He’s blowing it out of the water! Every performance of his seems to be a declaration that there’s no limit, that what we saw just a few months ago was only the beginning. After winning silver at the European Championships in Birmingham and jumping a legendary 6.16 in Lausanne, the Greek pole vaulter decided in Zurich to make history in capital letters: 6.20 m and a new Greek national record!
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Karalis ranks fifth in the World Athletics world rankings
Karalis isn’t just on a path to the top. He’s on a path that, until recently, only Duplantis had touched. His previous indoor mark of 6.17m was the first warning sign. The 6.20m mark is the moment when Manolo says, “I’m here,” and the sport is forced to acknowledge it. We’re talking about a performance that, just a few years ago, would have been a world record—and now he’s making it his own, with ease, with confidence, and with flawless technique.
The 26-year-old now has more than 25 competitions with jumps exceeding 6 meters. This isn’t mere consistency; it’s the hallmark of an athlete who has joined the ranks of the truly great. In Lausanne, he became the first athlete in history not to win despite clearing 6.16m. In Zurich, however, he left no room for doubt: He cleared 6.20 m and was hailed as an athlete who is changing the sport.
That jump isn’t just a record. It’s the moment Karalis definitively entered the pantheon of pole vault legends!
The top five pole vaulters of all time and their best jumps:
Duplantis 6.31 m.
Karalis 6.20 m.
Lavillenie 6.16 m.
Bubka 6.15 m.
Lightfoot 6.07 m.
MANO KARALIS
CLEARS A NATIONAL RECORD OF 6.20M TO STRENGTHEN HIS STATUS AS THE SECOND BEST POLE VAULTER EVER! pic.twitter.com/B8gKnZuzjj
— Femke Bredele (@TnFtms) August 27, 2026
*Photo source: AP
