ROUEN, France (March 7) – Emmanouil Karalis underlined his status as the in‑form men’s pole vaulter by winning the 2026 Perche Elite Tour, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting in Rouen, with 6.06 meters and then coming close to a world-leading 6.20m on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Greek, who set a 6.17m world lead in Athens last week to sit second behind only Mondo Duplantis on the world all-time list, needed only three jumps to secure victory and a meeting record, clearing 5.70m, 5.90m, and 6.06m at the first time of asking before raising the bar straight to 6.20m after the rest of the field departed the competition.
Read Also: Jakub Szymański and Jessica Schilder set records ahead of World Indoors – ISTAF Indoor Report
Karalis twice brushed the bar off with his chest on near‑clearances at 6.20m and dislodged it again on his final attempt, but his series further tightened the focus on an impending clash with world record holder Duplantis later this month at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.
Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen shared the 6.06m height and the spotlight with Karalis, coming through a scrappy start to improve his own national record and move into joint sixth on the world all‑time list.
The 2023 European indoor champion needed two attempts at 5.70m, 5.90m and 6.00m, the latter equalling his previous national mark, before soaring over 6.06m on his third try and collapsing onto the runway in visible relief.
Australia’s two-time world championships medalist Kurtis Marschall placed third with 5.90m, his second clearance at that height this season. The 26-year-old finished ahead of France’s Baptiste Thiery, who also cleared 5.90m, and compatriots Ethan Cormont and Thibaut Collet at 5.80m.
Karalis and Guttormsen are now part of a six‑strong group of men over six meters this indoor season in what is fast becoming one of the deepest years the event has seen. In addition to the pair, Duplantis, Belarus’ Matvey Volkov, USA’s Zach Bradford, and Marschall are the other men to soar over six meters in 2026.
The strong field will be hoping to renew their rivalry at the Mondo Classic in Uppsala on March 12 before taking on a very confident Duplantis and a full championship field at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26.
On the women’s runway, Britain’s Molly Caudery took another step forward towards her best with a winning clearance of 4.70m in only her second competition of the year.
The 2024 world indoor champion, who endured a disrupted 2025 campaign after no‑heighting at the Olympic Games and then suffering successive injuries, added to her season’s best and secured victory on countback over Slovenia’s Tina Sutej.
Both Caudery and Sutej cleared 4.70m, but the Briton’s cleaner record at 4.62m – two attempts to Sutej’s three – proved decisive after a tight contest.
Sutej, a multiple global indoor medalist, including three European silver medals, has been a consistent presence at the top end of the event this winter and will target a first major title at the World Athletics Indoor Championships later this month.
Switzerland’s Angelica Moser finished third with 4.62m, while Czech vaulter Amalie Svabikova and New Zealander Imogen Ayris shared fourth on the same height, ahead of reigning world indoor champion Marie‑Julie Bonnin in sixth after she needed three attempts at 4.62m.
The 2026 edition of the World Athletics Indoor Championships will take place in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland, on 20-22 March 2026.
