Greek pole vaulter Emmanouil Karalis has secured his place in the final of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, marking the first time in his career that he will compete for a medal at this level.

Karalis, who trains under his father, Charis Karalis, and Polish coach Marcin Szczepanski, executed his qualifying jumps flawlessly. He cleared 5.55 meters on his first attempt and followed with a smooth jump at 5.75 meters. This performance was enough to guarantee his spot in Monday’s final (September 15, 13:49), as twelve athletes successfully cleared this height, meaning the automatic qualifying mark of 5.80 meters was not required.

The twelve finalists include: Emmanouil Karalis (Greece), Chris Nilsen (USA), Armand Duplantis (Sweden), Torbjørn Gudormsen (Norway), Kurtis Marschall (Australia), Pim Blom (Netherlands), Renaud Cormont (France), Lita Baere (Germany), T. Kolet (Germany), Renaud Lavillenie (France), Ersu Sasmac (Turkey), and Abdesalam (Qatar).

Meanwhile, fellow Greek vaulter Giannis Rizos struggled during qualifying. He cleared 5.40 meters on his second attempt but failed all three attempts at 5.55 meters, finishing in 30th place overall. This was Rizos’ first appearance at a World Athletics Championships; he trains under coach Nikos Varsamis.