Mondo Duplantis might have to buckle down this time, as his rivals won’t let him stroll to victory at the Zurich Diamond League finale. The record-shattering pole vaulter was expected to dominate in Silesia, but Emmanouil Karalis nearly flipped the script. The Greek star, already soaring into the sport’s elite this season, pushed Duplantis to the edge with a 6.00m leap before the Swede cleared 6.10m to survive. Now, Duplantis could be on high alert; this time, the chase feels real.

After his Silesia outing, Mondo Duplantis skipped the Lausanne leg and is heading straight to the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich—having already locked in enough qualification points. While the world record holder rested, his rival Emmanouil Karalis stole the show, clearing 6.02m to win the men’s Pole Vault. He edged past French legends Renaud Lavillenie and Thibaut Collet, who shared second at 5.82m. Remarkably, this marked Karalis’ 10th competition over 6m in 2025.

Karalis has been redefining his career at this point. He kicked off his season by claiming the European indoor crown in Apeldoorn alongside Menno Vloon, then underlined his form with a 5.92m triumph at the Balkan Championships. Since his 5.92 m throw, Karalis has been clearing six metres with ease. From his highlight 6.00m win at Fly Athens and a silver medal at the World Indoors in Nanjing, where his 6.05m jump set a new Greek indoor record, to his 6.08m performance in Volos, he is dominating this season.

After finishing second in Silesia, Karalis became emotional and nearly cried when speaking about his second homeland, Poland: “Poland is my second home. My coach is Polish and I always enjoy competing here. I love pierogi, too.” He further added, “Being consistent at 6 metres is not something I even dreamt of achieving, and now I am doing it, attacking heights of 6.10. Yes, I definitely think I can go even higher, and I think I can do better in Tokyo.”

While Karalis is touching new heights, Mondo Duplantis continues to set the gold standard in pole vaulting. His 6.10m triumph came hot on the heels of a breathtaking 6.29m clearance in Budapest, the third time he has pushed his own world record higher in 2025. Now, he has set his sights on securing the 6.30m barrier, but Karalis’ equation does pose a threat to his dominance.

With the Diamond’s league finale as well as the 2025 World Championship looming near, we might witness their rivalry even more. Well, Duplantis is certain about his future as well as the future of pole vaulting; however, Justin Gatlin has a warning for him.

Justin Gatlin has a warning for Mondo Duplantis despite dominating the pole vault zone

With a 37-meet winning streak in the circuit since 2023, there’s hardly anyone in the world who can challenge Duplantis’ domination. After his Silesia stint, former sprinter Justin Gatlin was seriously impressed by his ascent; however, he also had a warning for the Swedish-American. 

During a conversation on his recent podcast, Ready Set Go, Gatlin stated, “It seems like it’s very systematic for him, and he knows how to get the job done, man. So, he broke the code, man. He is the code, to be honest. That’s where he’s at right now. He’s the code.” Duplantis has broken the world record thirteen times, each by a margin of one centimetre.

Rodney Green agreed with Gatlin; however, he warned, “I mean, he won the Silesia Diamond League also after breaking the world record. He might take a little break before. No, he’s going to go straight to the Diamond League final and which he didn’t even have to go. I mean, he’s definitely the guy by far.” Well, Duplantis might have heard Green’s words, as he is on a break until the Diamond League final.