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Karalis opens his season with a 5.85m clearance for victory in Rouen

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Roma 2024 European silver medallist and Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Emmanouil Karalis from Greece began his season in style with victory at the Perche Elite Tour in Rouen - France a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting - on Friday (24) evening.

Karalis cleared an early season world leading mark of 5.85m - also his best ever season’s opener - to win by one clear height from France’s Baptiste Thiery and Olympic silver medallist Sam Kendricks, both of whom cleared 5.75m. 

The 25-year-old, who became the 29th and most recent man to join the 'six-metre club' when he cleared exactly that height at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia last summer, sailed over 5.85m on his first attempt before two tries at 5.91m which would have equated to a Greek indoor best. 

 

Karalis came away with medals from all three major championships last year and with world record-holder Armand Duplantis unlikely to compete at the Apeldoorn 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships, the Greek must be fancying his chances of claiming his first major senior title.

Karalis came close to winning gold at the last edition of the European Athletics Indoor Championships, winning silver on countback behind Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen in Istanbul.

In the women’s competition, Slovenian veteran Tina Sutej got a morale-boosting victory after an injury-plauged 2024 and cleared 4.61m to ensure the win.

She then addedextra lustre to her victory, clearing 4.66m on her second attempt to win by two clear heights from Italian record-holder Roberta Bruni, who was second with 4.56m. 

Elien Vekemans finished third on countback with her third-time 4.56m clearance representing a two-centimetre improvement on her own Belgian record.

Sutej has come away with silver medals at the last two editions of the European Athletics Indoor Championships as well as bronze at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships and, like Karalis, will be aiming for her first major international title in Apeldoorn with her talents showing no sign of declining at the age of 36.

 




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