Duplantis Finally Has A Serious Rival

Zurich Diamond League: Karalis Challenges Duplantis

At the Zurich Diamond League, Emmanouil Karalis pushed world-record holder Armand Duplantis to a height rarely shared by two vaulters—but Duplantis still won.

Both men cleared 6.00 m and 6.10 m. Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen dropped out at 6.10 m, leaving Karalis to continue his “win or die trying” pursuit of Duplantis.

Duplantis cleared 6.15 m. Karalis passed on that height and went straight to 6.20 m, three centimetres above his previous personal best. He cleared it, becoming only the second man ever to vault 6.20 m.

Duplantis responded by raising the bar to 6.25 m, which he cleared on his first attempt, though the jump looked untidy. The pair then skipped to 6.32 m, a world-record height. It was the first time two men had cleared 6.20 m at the same competition, and both were now attempting the world record.

Neither succeeded. Duplantis knocked the bar off on his first try, while Karalis came close on his second, getting his hips over but bringing the bar down with his chest. Duplantis’s final attempt was his best, but it also failed. He showed visible frustration afterward.

Results and context

• Armand Duplantis: 1st, 6.25 m
• Emmanouil Karalis: 2nd, 6.20 m

Their head-to-head record remained heavily in Duplantis’s favor, but Karalis’s breakthrough reinforced the video’s central point: after years of dominance, Duplantis may have a genuine challenger. The narrator tempers that conclusion, noting Karalis’s inconsistent season and describing Zurich as more of a wake-up call than proof that the two are now evenly matched.

Presenters and sources

• Unidentified Jumpman narrator
• Unnamed live-event commentators in the broadcast clips