Sweden’s Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis proved that he is human after all. Attempting a world record height of 6.32 metres at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday, August 27, Duplantis failed to clear the bar.
However, that did not stop one of the greatest athletes of all time from winning the competition, as he jumped 6.25 metres to take the Diamond League title. Duplantis was pushed hard by his Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis, who broke his personal best as well as the Greek national record by clearing 6.20 metres.
For once, though, the story was not simply about Duplantis winning again. Karalis made sure of that.
The Greek pole vaulter produced the performance of his life to stay with Duplantis deep into the competition. After both men cleared 6.10m, Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen was eliminated after failing three times at the next height, leaving the two rivals alone at the top.
And then the contest really came alive. Duplantis cleared 6.15m with his first attempt, setting a new meeting record. Karalis, however, decided to skip the height altogether.
He went straight for 6.20m. And cleared it.
It was a stunning moment for Karalis, who added 3cm to his previous personal best and set a new Greek national record in the process. For an athlete who has spent much of his career operating in Duplantis’ enormous shadow, this was a chance to show just how close he could get to the seemingly untouchable Swede.
Duplantis, though, had an answer.
After an injury-plagued summer in which he had struggled to consistently reproduce his best form, the Swede looked completely unbothered by Karalis’ challenge. He cleared 6.25m at the first attempt, reclaiming control of the competition.
Karalis then decided to take another enormous swing.
With Duplantis already over 6.25m, the Greek attempted 6.32m, one centimetre higher than the existing world record. It was a height that proved too much, with Karalis unable to get close to keeping the bar in place.
Duplantis followed.
For perhaps the first time that night, the Zurich crowd got to see him fail.
His first attempt at 6.32m came close, but the bar tumbled down. Karalis returned for his second attempt and came even closer, only to catch the bar on his way down.
Duplantis then had another chance to end the contest. He couldn’t.
Suddenly, both men had one attempt left at a height that even Duplantis had never cleared.
For Karalis, the third attempt brought the end of his challenge. His failure meant Duplantis had secured yet another victory, but the Swede was not finished.
He had one final chance to make history.
Duplantis generated plenty of speed on his run-up and appeared to have done enough to get over the bar. But on the way down, he grazed it. The bar wobbled before eventually falling to the mat.
TWO WORLD RECORDS BROKEN IN ZURICH DL
Brazil’s Alison dos Santos and American Masai Russell smashed world records at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday, stealing the spotlight.
Dos Santos stormed to victory in the men’s 400m hurdles in 45.80 seconds, toppling Karsten Warholm’s world record of 45.94 set at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The Brazilian blew apart the race off the final bend and powered clear down the home straight, with Warholm trailing home in 46.69.
Olympic champion Russell then produced a record run of her own, surging away over the final hurdle to clock 12.09 in the women’s 100m hurdles to erase the previous mark of 12.12 set by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan in 2022.
DOS SANTOS LIVES OUT HIS POTENTIAL
The 26-year-old Dos Santos has spent years knocking on the door of history, winning world gold in 2022, silver in 2025 and Olympic bronze medals in Tokyo and Paris. This season he has turned the tables decisively on Warholm, extending his unbeaten run against the Norwegian to five races.
“The crowd and the energy were perfect. I think this night was amazing for me, for those who came to watch – I did it for everybody,” Dos Santos said.
“Also, I hope that Brazil stopped to watch this as much as the people here in the stadium. This has been an incredible night, I have no words to explain what happened other than I just broke the world record.”
Warholm said Dos Santos was “brilliant”.
“Honestly, I felt strong… but I just cannot go out there and run one second faster because he does it. That is not how it works.
“So I have got to get back to the drawing board and do something else.”
SPRINTERS SHINE IN ZURICH
Saint Lucia’s Olympic champion Julien Alfred laid down a marker ahead of next month’s World Athletics Ultimate Championships, winning the women’s 100m in a national record 10.70 seconds.
“Staying at the top is definitely a harder job than making it up there,” Alfred said. “Going up the mountain, you are still hungry, you want more. It is not much fun when you’re not the one being hunted.
“When I became Olympic champion, it was a completely different state – mentally and emotionally.”
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden matched Alfred’s time, with the result decided by photo finish, while American teammate Sha’Carri Richardson was third in 10.97.
Kenny Bednarek of the U.S. won the men’s 200m in a world leading time for this season of 19.62, while Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi won the men’s 800m in 1:41.76 — also the fastest time in the world this season — for his second successive Diamond League victory.
“Just to try to run fast, to run my own race,” Wanyonyi said. “This result shows that my body is coming up. And when I see the world records being broken, I know my time will come.”
He edged Djamel Sedjati of Algeria, who finished in 1:41.83.
ALL RECORDS BROKEN IN ZURICH DIAMOND LEAGUE
*WR: World Record
*AR: Area Record
*DLR: Diamond League Record
*MR: Meet Record (Zurich DL)
The Diamond League final will take place in Brussels on September 4-5 this year.
– Ends
