--- title: "Manolo Karalis challenges Mondo Duplantis for the pole vault world record in Zurich; first 6.20m by two in same meet" sdDatePublished: "2026-09-04T14:21:00Z" source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/manolo-karalis-challenging-mondo-duplantis-pole-vault-world-record-interview" topics: - name: "sport" identifier: "medtop:15000000" - name: "sport achievement" identifier: "medtop:20001301" - name: "competition discipline" identifier: "medtop:20000822" locations: - "Brussels-Capital" - "Uppsala" - "Lausanne" - "Zürich" - "Birmingham" - "Île-de-France" --- Manolo Karalis challenges Mondo Duplantis for the pole vault world record in Zurich; first 6.20m by two in same meet Manolo Karalis on challenging Mondo Duplantis for the pole vault world record: "It's just unbelievable" Manolo Karalis on challenging Mondo Duplantis for the pole vault world record: "It's just unbelievable" The Greek star, already the second-highest pole vaulter of all time behind world record holder Duplantis, cleared a new personal best 6.20m last week at the Zurich Diamond League. But having three attempts at taking Duplantis' world record away has left him wanting more. More pole vault history was made at the 2026 Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League meet last week. No, the world record wasn't broken yet again by Mondo Duplantis , the all-conquering Swede who has transformed the event's popularity. But, perhaps more remarkably, he wasn't the only one attempting to set a new world record at 6.32m. Greece's Emmanouil "Manolo" Karalis cleared 6.20m in Zurich at the meet while Duplantis went over 6.25m, marking the first time two men have ever cleared 6.20m or higher at the same competition. Karalis and Duplantis then moved the bar to 6.32m, each missing their attempts at that height. Given the world record domination of first Sergii Bubka , then Renaud Lavillenie , and now Duplantis in this event over the last 40-plus years, it marked a new frontier in pole vault: Duplantis appears to now have a direct challenger. There was, for a few minutes each time Karalis stepped up for an attempt, the possibility that Duplantis would not be the pole vault world record holder, had the Greek managed to clear 6.32m. "Jumping over 6.20, it's unbelievable," an ecstatic Karalis told media outlets, including Olympics.com, after his achievements in Zurich. "And I also tried for the world record, it's nuts. "I had no idea if I was close or not," he added "It's good at those heights, it breaks mental barriers. I'm extremely grateful for Mondo, as a friend and as an athlete, because he's made all the athletes break the mental barriers of those great heights – 6.10, 6.20, 6.30, it's just unbelievable what happened tonight [that] I was able to attempt those heights. "I will see the videos to see if I was close or not, but that motivates me to attempt to jump those heights again." Emmanouil Karalis exclusive - On pole vault highs, new targets, recovery on the golf course, and a passion for wine (from 2025) Emmanouil Karalis: “If I didn’t believe that I could break the world record, I wouldn’t attempt it” Karalis closing in on Duplantis while distancing field It has been a long time since anyone has come close to challenging Duplantis consistently, but Karalis's improvement in his heights this year has put everyone on notice. For a long time, clearing the 6m bar was an impressive achievement. While it still is, it is becoming more commonplace – the field behind Duplantis has closed. Just three men went over that height in 2025 (Duplantis at 6.30m, Karalis at 6.08m, and Christopher Nilsen at 6.01m). In the first eight months of 2026, six men have already cleared 6m. But Karalis has taken a clear step ahead of that chasing pack himself. Barely two years removed from his first career 6m clearance at the Silesia Diamond League in 2024, the 26-year-old has added 20cm to his personal record and finds himself a whopping 14cm clear of the year's next-best vaulter, Norway's Sondre Guttormsen (6.06m). Put in perspective, the Greek is only 11cm behind Duplantis' 6.31m world record from Uppsala in March. You have to go back to 2021 to find the last time someone was closer to Duplantis than to the rest of the field, when former world record holder Lavillenie's season best was 6.06m, 4cm behind Duplantis but 6cm ahead of KC Lightfoot. And even more remarkably, both men put in their 6.20m-plus clearances at the end of a long stretch of travel and competition, from the European Championships in Birmingham on 16 August to Zurich on 27 August, via stops at the Lausanne and Silesia Diamond League meets on the 20th and 23rd of that month. "Even though we're fatigued from the 10 days of travelling and competing, we're here, and we're pushing each other, and we're motivating each other to jump high," Karalis said. "I'm just extremely blessed and grateful to be here and be present and move onwards and upwards. "To be honest, I was feeling very, very tired from all those days, 10 days on the road with the boys… but when the competition was going, we had some guys jumping over 6m, and that motivated me." Men's Pole Vault Final | Athletics | Olympic Games Paris 2024 This Men's Pole Vault Final took place at the Stade de France, France, on 05 2024. Armand Duplantis (SWE) broke the World Record with a height of 6.25m. Sam Kendricks (USA) won Silver and Emmanouil Karalis (GRE) completed the podium. Back to business for Karalis Karalis has vaulted 6m or higher on 10 occasions so far this year, including clearances of 6.17m in February at the Greek Indoor Championships – the jump which added 9cm to his then-personal best and surged him past Lavillenie to second all-time – and 6.16m at the Lausanne Diamond League before his 6.20m effort. And given how close he came to shocking everyone and taking the world record away from Duplantis, with three missed attempts at 6.32m (the first time anyone not named Armand Duplantis had ever attempted that height), it's clear that Karalis can still improve. And he knows it. Now that the dust has settled from Zurich and he has had time to let his 6.20 sink in, it's back to business. "The season's not over," he said that very night. "Job's not done. We have [Diamond League] Finals and the [World Athletics] Ultimate [Championships]. So that's the next two goals." With Duplantis and Karalis continuing to push each other at those two events, that 6.32m mark had better watch out. Athletics | Allianz Memorial Van Damme | Wanda Diamond League | Brussels | Belgium