Emmanuel Karalis won silver at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Sunday, finishing second in a pole ...

Emmanuel Karalis won silver at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Sunday, finishing second in a pole vault final that pushed both him and world record holder Armand Duplantis to the absolute limit. Duplantis took gold with a clearance of 6.15 meters, but Karalis made him earn every centimeter of it. Both athletes cleared 6.00m in the same competition, with Karalis recording his third 6-meter clearance of the outdoor season. The two then skipped 6.05 and went straight to 6.10, where Duplantis cleared on his first attempt and Karalis just grazed the bar with his chest. Karalis passed his remaining attempts at 6.10 and moved straight to 6.15 to try to force a tiebreak, but failed to clear it. Duplantis, for his part, passed 6.20 once Karalis committed to that height, a tactical gamble that ultimately wasn't needed. The Swede had already done enough. The silver is Karalis's second consecutive European Championship medal at this event, following his silver in Rome in 2024. It also brings his total championship medals across major senior competitions to nine, a remarkable run that now includes World Indoor, World Outdoor, Olympic, and European podium finishes. The result makes it two medals for Greece in Birmingham, following Miltiadis Tentoglou's gold in the long jump earlier in the championships. #EmmanuelKaralis #EuropeanAthletics #Birmingham2026