Karalis Clears 6.17m at Greek Indoors to Become Second-Highest Pole Vaulter in History
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European indoor champion Emmanouil Karalis soared to a sensational 6.17m at the Greek Indoor Championships in Paiania on Saturday, February 28, becoming the second-highest pole vaulter in history.
After opening with a world-leading 6.07m clearance on his first attempt, the Greek star raised the bar to 6.17m. Karalis cleared the mark on his second attempt.
He moved to the second place on the all time list ahead of former world record holders Sergey Bubka from Ukraine and Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie.
Sweden's Aramnd Duplantis remains holds the world record of 6.30m set at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025, where Karalis took silver.
The 24-year-old then took two ambitious attempts at 6.31m, aiming to snatch the world record from Duplantis.
Both vaulters, Karalis and Duplantis, are scheduled to meet for the first time in 2026 at the Mondo Classic in Uppsala on 12 March.
World Athletics Indoor Championships is scheduled to to take place in Kujawy Pomorze, POland 2026 (20–22 March), where Duplantis and Karalis are expected to clash for the global supremacy.
The Greek Athletics Indoor Championships will continue on Sunday, March 1. You can watch the event live on YouTube here.
Men's Pole Vault Results
| Pos. | Athlete | Year | Country | Club | Result | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emmanouil Karalis | 1999 | GRE | Olympiacos SFP | 6.17m | PB |
| 2 | Antonios Santas | 2001 | GRE | AEK | 5.48m | |
| 3 | Georgios Papanastasiou | 2004 | GRE | PAOK | 5.48m | |
| 4 | Andreas Kazamias | 2001 | CYP | GS Kifisias | 5.24m | PB |
| 5 | Konstantinos Prokopiou | 2005 | CYP | Olympiacos SFP | 5.12m | =PB |
| 6 | Ioannis Ntouros | 2003 | GRE | AS Rigas Thessalonikis | 5.00m | =PB |
| 7 | Sotirios Chytas | 2002 | GRE | GS Kifisias | 4.80m | |
| 7 | Panagiotis Koupourtiadis | 2004 | GRE | AS Rigas Thessalonikis | 4.80m | |
| 9 | Christoforos Litsardopoulos | 2007 | GRE | AEK | 4.80m | |
| 10 | Panagiotis Gkekas | 2007 | GRE | GS Kerkyrikos | 4.80m | |
| 11 | Stamatios Vasileiou | 2002 | GRE | GS Serres 93 | 4.60m | PB |
| 12 | Theofanis Belos | 1992 | GRE | AS Rigas Thessalonikis | 4.60m | =SB |
