On a crisp Sunday evening at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium, Swedish pole vault superstar Armand “Mondo” Duplantis put on a masterclass of precision and dominance to secure his fourth consecutive European Athletics Championships gold medal, cementing his status as one of the greatest athletes in the sport’s history.
The 2-time Olympic champion and three-time world gold medalist outperformed a 14-strong competitive field, finishing ahead of Greek standout Emmanouil Karalis to take the top spot, while setting a new championship record of 6.15 meters. This mark beats the previous 6.10m record Duplantis himself set at the 2022 European Championships in Rome.
Karalis, who holds a personal best of 6.17m, claimed silver with a solid clearance of 6.00m, while France’s Baptiste Thiery rounded out the podium with a bronze medal finish after clearing 5.85m. Only three athletes in the entire field managed to clear the 6-meter barrier: Duplantis, Karalis, and Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen.
The competition played out in a steady rise of tension as the bar climbed incrementally. The opening height of 5.55m proved no challenge for either Duplantis or Karalis, who both opted to pass at 5.70m, a height that eliminated four competitors immediately. At 5.85m, Duplantis, Karalis, and Thiery all made clean clearances, while five more athletes were knocked out of contention, with Guttormsen and Germany’s Bo Kanda Lita Baerze advancing only after surviving early failed attempts.
When the bar rose to 5.95m, Guttormsen, Kanda Lita Baerze, and Thiery all failed to clear, leaving just Karalis and Duplantis in the fight for gold. Karalis made a clean clearance at 5.95m while Duplantis passed, moving the competition straight to 6.00m. Duplantis stumbled on his first attempt, and Karalis also failed to clear on his first jump. Duplantis responded with a clean clearance on his second try, putting immediate pressure on Karalis, who matched the performance to stay in the race.
Both athletes passed on attempts at 6.05m, and Duplantis successfully cleared 6.10m on his first attempt. Karalis failed to clear 6.10m on his first jump, even as the iconic “Zorba’s Dance” blared over the stadium speakers to cheer him on. Karalis opted to pass on his remaining attempts at 6.10m to save his strength for 6.15m. Duplantis rose to the challenge, clearing the 6.15m bar on his first attempt to take the championship record.
With the bar moved to 6.20m, Karalis made one final attempt to snatch gold, but his jump just grazed the bar, sending it crashing to the mat to end the competition. With temperatures dropping rapidly as the evening went on, Duplantis opted not to make an attempt at extending his own 16-year world record, instead packing up his poles and heading off the track with another gold medal added to his legendary collection.
In post-victory comments, Duplantis expressed gratitude for the win, saying: “Another medal, I can’t complain. It’s really amazing. I’m just trying to win. I’m happy coming out with the win and that was enough for tonight. I really had a good time this week.”