European indoor champion Emmanouil Karalis cleared a world’s best for 2026 6.17m at the Greek Indoor Championships in the Paiania district east of Athens on Saturday to become the second-best pole vaulter in history.
Having already cleared a world-best of 6.07m on his first attempt, Karalis elected to raise the bar to 6.17m, a height that has only been conquered by world champion Armand Duplantis.
Karalis cleared this height on his second attempt and moved to second on the all-time list ahead of former world record-holders and Olympic champions Sergiy Bubka and Renaud Lavillenie and behind Duplantis, who holds the world record with 6.30m from the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where Karalis won silver.
The record-breaking jump sparked immediate celebration inside the stadium, as spectators reacted to what they had just witnessed. Karalis embraced his father—who is also his coach—before celebrating with his mother, sharing the moment with his family on the field.
His achievement was met with widespread acclaim, both at the venue and beyond, as messages of congratulations poured in shortly after the event.
Among those who reached out was Sergey Bubka, one of the most iconic figures in pole vault history and the first athlete to clear six meters. Bubka contacted Karalis via video call to personally congratulate him on the milestone.
The attempt at the world record followed, as he made two attempts to exceed 6.31m, which would have taken the world record away from his friend and rival.
Karalis and Duplantis will face-off for first time in 2026 at the Mondo Classic in Uppsala, Sweden on March 12, ahead of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland at the end of the month, where Duplantis will vie for a fourth successive title.
Updated world all-time pole vault list
6.30m – Armand Duplantis (SWE), 2025
6.17m – Emmanouil Karalis (GRE), 2026
6.16m – Renaud Lavillenie (FRA), 2014
6.15m – Sergey Bubka (UKR), 1993
6.07m – KC Lightfoot (USA), 2023
6.06m – Steve Hooker (AUS), 2009
6.06m – Sam Kendricks (USA), 2019
6.05m – Maksim Tarasov (RUS), 1999
6.05m – Dmitri Markov (AUS), 2001
6.05m – Chris Nilsen (USA), 2022
