“FIREWORKS,” PREDICTED MANOLO KARALÍS. He called that right, even if he didn’t get the win of which he dreamed.
Yet again the Greek upstart forced an epic battle with Mondo Duplantis, now recovered from the muscle worries that kept him out of the Diamond League Final. And while the sport has been long used to Duplantis as its top vaulter with 5 straight No. 1s, now it can revel in the spectacle of Karalís, who is actually 3 weeks older than the Swede, coming into his own as a worthy rival.
Both produced monster clearances of the opening height of 18-4½ (5.60). While Duplantis passed 19-¼ (5.80), Karalís flew high again, looking like he is ready to challenge the World Record himself. Both also soared over 19-6¼ (5.95) on their first tries, along with Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen. Joining them on the second attempt were Kurtis Marschall and Zach Bradford. The American broke an outdoor PR that had been with him for 3 years.
With the bar at 19-10¼ (6.05), Duplantis nailed it on his first try. The others only piled up the misses until Karalís nailed it on his third.
That sent the bar to 20-2 (6.15), and Karalís took over the lead with a perfect clearance on his first attempt. Minutes later, Duplantis knocked him back to 2nd with a make of his own.
Officials set the bar at 20-4 (6.20), the Greek record height that Karalís cleared when he finished 2nd at Zürich. He came oh-so-close but knocked it down on his first attempt. Mondo made his, forcing Karalís to pass to 20-6 (6.25) for his remaining two attempts.
The Greek, fatigued after 8 attempts, didn’t ignite the fireworks he had hoped for. Mondo hugged him as he climbed out of the pit for the final time.
Then the winner asked once again for the World Record height of 20-8¾ (6.32). It’s a bar he has tried 15 times this season since his last WR in March. On a cool night he waited for the winds to cooperate. He made three solid tries, but the record escaped him once again.
“I approached this event with a combination of a lot of nerves and excitement,” admitted the winner, who noted that Karalís has changed the event. “With Manolo, I just want to give a huge shout-out to him and his team and give a big hats-off for what they accomplished throughout this year. Pole vault is always the most exciting event out there but it is totally different now. I really hope everyone enjoyed it. I did because it was a totally different event.”
“This has been a dream season,” said Karalís, who noted. “I changed my pole for the last jump because my back hurt a bit but to clear 6.15 with my small pole is unbelievable.”
UC MEN’S POLE VAULT RESULTS
September 11
1. Mondo Duplantis (Swe) 20-4 (6.20)
(18-4½, 19-6¼, 19-10¼, 20-2, 20-4, 20-8¾ WR [xxx]) (5.60, 5.95, 6.05, 6.15, 6.20, 6.32 WR [xxx]);
2. Manolo Karalís (Gre) 20-2 (6.15)
(18-4½, 19-¼, 19-6¼, 19-10¼ [3], 20-2, 20-4 [x], 20-6 [xx]) (5.60, 5.80, 5.95, 6.05 [3], 6.15, 6.20 [x], 6.25 [xx])
3. Sondre Guttormsen (Nor) 19-6¼ (5.95)
(18-4½, 19-¼, 19-6¼, 19-10¼ [xxx]) (5.60, 5.80, 5.95, 6.05 [xxx])
4. Kurtis Marschall (Aus) 19-6¼ (5.95)
(18-4½, 19-¼ [x], 19-6¼ [2], 19-10¼ [xxx]) (5.60, 5.80 [x], 5.95 [2], 6.05 [xxx)
5. Zach Bradford (US) 19-6¼ (5.95)
(18-4½ [2], 19-¼ [2], 19-6¼ [2], 19-10¼ [xxx]) (5.60 [2], 5.80 [2], 5.95 [2], 6.05 [xxx])
=6. Sam Kendricks (US) 19-¼ (5.80)
=6. Baptiste Thiery (Fra) 19-¼ (5.80)
8. Chris Nilsen (US) 19-¼ (5.80)
(best-ever mark-for-place: =4, =5)
