Emmanuel Karalis, now known to the world as “Manolo”, shortly before his departure in the summer of 2024, and after winning a bronze medal with his merit at the Paris Olympics, became the first Greek jumper to cross the six-meter height in the pole vault.

After clearing 5.95 metres in Paris, he had declared that the six-metre target was close. “I wanted to drop 5.95, I said I would go all out, try for six metres. When they told me I was third, I was thrilled, but I had to do the jumps for the silver medal. I want to see the six metres, I’m going to do it soon, this year or next year. It’s in my immediate plans and my coaches’ plans.” And he was right after all. In just the very next, official competition he competed in, at the Diamond League in Silesia, with an impressive jump he managed to clear the six meters, writing his name in gold letters in the history of the sport, at only 24 years old, proving to everyone, but first of all to himself, that you should never give up on your dreams.

Karalis showed from the beginning that he is in excellent condition as he started his race from 562m., a height that he passed with the first jump, just as he did with 5.72m. and 5.82m.
His first unsuccessful attempt came at 5.92m, but his second jump was really impressive and he basically showed that he can reach the historic 6m mark.

In his first two attempts he lowered the bar, but in the third, with the whole stadium and his teammates cheering him on, Manolo passed it and became the first Greek to break one of the most important barriers in world athletics.

Karalis finished his race at 6.00m taking the 3rd place with the American Sam Kendricks being second (also at 6m) and Duplantis first (just like in the Olympics) with the Swede breaking the world record again with a jump of 6.26m!

“I was told that blacks don’t jump pole vault. Now I am the first black jumper to jump over six metres! Never give up on your dreams,” he wrote on social media in a personal outburst about what he has been through.

On August 19, 2022, Emmanuel Karalis, in a lengthy soul-searching statement via a social media post, had made it known that he would be taking a break from racing for a while to help his mental health as he had “sunk” into anxiety and depression.

“After an injury I had during the indoor track and field season, a series of incidents followed which managed to completely diminish my morale. For the first time this year I had a panic attack that caused me to sink into anxiety and depression for quite some time. I pushed myself very hard to reverse this situation, but it made things worse and unfortunately “bad” Manolo dominated and took over. I was forced to carry on with the season and try to be positive and enjoy every match as I do but I always felt lost and stuck. I’m tired and I feel completely exhausted. I’m finishing my season here. I need some rest and I need to focus on my mental health for a while. I need to take a step back and take a break to get my smile back,” he said in a post on his personal Instagram account.

And finally, he got his smile back. He found it and he spread it to all Greeks, making them proud with his bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, and now, with his own Panhellenic record.