Duplantis Soars in a Historic Competition, Karalis Also Impressive

A historic pole vault competition in Lausanne, in an electric atmosphere! Armand Duplantis won the Athletissima City Event with a magnificent jump of 6.21 meters—his career-high since his wedding this summer—before attempting (unsuccessfully) to break the world record. He had to be at the top of his game to beat Emmanouíl Karalís, who cleared 6.16 meters. Never before had two men cleared such heights in the same competition.

The Swede and the Greek put on a spectacular show for the more than 5,000 spectators. Clearing 6.16 meters first and then 6.21 meters, Duplantis broke the unofficial world record for an off-stadium competition (at a City Event), which he had already held with his 6.15-meter jump in 2024 in Ouchy. All of this took place in a thunderous atmosphere, with the DJ playing perfectly timed hits, including “Feeling Myself,” composed by “Mondo” himself.

“I’ll be back—the atmosphere here is exceptional. And we’ve never seen two pole vaulters clear such heights in the same competition,” commented the very friendly Scandinavian “ogre” after his successful jump at 6m21, and even before his two attempts at 6m32—1 cm higher than his all-time world record. He didn’t miss them by much. With a bit more freshness, it seemed he had them in his legs. But it had been a long evening, and by the time of his second jump at 6.32 m, the light outside had already dimmed considerably. Combined with “Mondo’s” (very relative) fatigue a week after his fourth European title in Birmingham, this slightly reduced visibility prevented Lausanne from setting a new world record, 20 years after the most recent one—Liu Xiang’s in the 110-meter hurdles. Perhaps it’s just a matter of time.

The competition was incredibly close, as three athletes cleared 5.91 meters behind the top two: Kurtis Marschall (AUS/3rd), Sondre Guttormsen (NOR/4th), and Chris Nilsen (USA/5th). Then four more cleared 5.81 meters: Ernest John Obiena (PHI/6th), Zachery Bradford (USA) and Sam Kendricks, tied for 7th, and KC Lightfoot (USA), 9th. The French athletes Baptiste Thiery and Renaud Lavillenie brought up the rear with 5.51 meters.