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Interview with Emmanuel Karalis: Acclaimed Greek pole vaulter (Includes interview)

This summer, Karalis competed at the 2017 World Championships in London, which was a great learning experience. “It was a great experience. I am still 17, so it was a dream come true to compete with the best of the best in the world,” he said.

Emmanuel Karalis

Emmanuel Karalis
Emmanuel Karalis

With a vault of 5.53 meters, Karalis set a world junior record on February 13, 2016. “That was my proudest professional moment,” he said, especially since he set it at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Athens. “Also, winning the gold at the European Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia.”

Similar to Swedish-American athlete Mondo Duplantis, Karalis is only 17 years old, and these achievements are quite impressive for a teen Greek pole vaulter.

Emmanuel Karalis

Emmanuel Karalis
Emmanuel Karalis

His plans for the future are to continue to improve his technique, as well as to jump higher. He is drawn to the sport of pole vault due to its “runway, the take-off and the feeling that you are in the air.” “It’s an awesome feeling,” he said.

Emmanuel Karalis

Emmanuel Karalis
Emmanuel Karalis

On his Greek heritage, he said, “I was born in Greece. My mother was born in Uganda, and she came to Greece when she was three years old, and grew up here, and she met my father. I live in Athens, the capital city of Greece.”

His biggest influence in sports was his father, who used to be a decathlete, and he wanted him to compete in the decathlon. “He told me that the pole vault was the hardest and the most technical event of the decathlon. I stick to pole vault since I liked it ever since,” he said.

For aspiring pole vaulters, Karalis’ advice is as follows: “Just do everything you like with passion, and enjoy the journey.”

Digital transformation of track and field

On the impact of technology, Karalis noted that it is “very useful” for all the athletes. “Now they are videos, and we can speak to each other and our coaches with Facebook, and we can exchange our ideas,” he said.

He shared that with the help of modern technology he has used a GoPro Hero 5 camera (on himself), where one can see him vaulting from his viewpoint. Such video may be seen on his Instagram page by clicking here. ”

Mondo Duplantis and Emmanuel Karalis

Mondo Duplantis and Emmanuel Karalis
Emmanuel Karalis

Karalis had the kindest words for his pole vault peers Mondo Duplantis and Sam Kendricks. “Mondo is a friend of mine, and I competed with Sam [Kendricks] in the Diamond League in Paris and then, at the World Championships. Sam is a very good man,” he said.

He defined the word success as “All the hard work I’ve put in doing something that I love.”

For the Greek-American community and sports fans, he concluded, “Hi to all the Greek-Americans! I would love to come and visit the United States one day. I also want to compete there someday. I want to see all the Greek-American culture there. Opa!”

To learn more about respected Greek pole vaulter Emmanuel Karalis, check out his official athlete Facebook page.

Markos Papadatos
Written By

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 20,000 original articles over the past 18 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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