The pole vaulters cannot wait to go head to head at the Athletissima City Event on Thursday (6:00 p.m.), in what promises to be a thrilling competition.
Meeting CEO Julien Carrel hopes the attendance record, set in 2024 with 5,500 spectators, will be broken. Armand Duplantis, who missed last year’s edition, is eager to reclaim his supremacy in Lausanne, as he told the media on Wednesday. “The City Event is exactly the kind of competition we pole vaulters love,” said the now four time European champion. Duplantis set the unofficial world record for an outdoor street competition in Ouchy in 2024 with a clearance of 6.15m. What can be expected from him this year, just one week after claiming another European title in Birmingham?
“The level of pole vaulting right now keeps pushing all of us to raise the bar. It’s tough because you can never relax. We’ll see what we still have left in the tank after Birmingham. Thursday is going to be fun, and the runway in Lausanne offers the best view, overlooking the lake and the Alps. My priority, of course, is to jump high,” said the extraordinary “Mondo”.
He also joked that he had always heard about Athletissima growing up because his father, Greg, has long been very close to Jacky Delapierre.
Fresh from winning silver in Birmingham, Emmanouil Karalis made his intentions clear. “I’m ready to clear six metres again,” said the Greek, who won in Lausanne last year in the rain with an impressive 6.00m jump.
Usually forced to settle for second place behind his great Swedish rival, Karalis has not given up hope.
“I still hope I can beat Mondo at least once in my career. Why not tomorrow, right here? I hope there will be plenty of Greek flags in the crowd. And after the competition, we can all meet at the bar.”
Sondre Guttormsen will also be looking to get as close as possible. Third in Lausanne in 2024, the Norwegian reached a new level this year by clearing 6.06m indoors in Rouen in March, moving him into the top six performers in history.
“I’m feeling good, even though Birmingham, where I finished fifth, didn’t go as well as I had hoped. I’m healthy and feeling very positive ahead of this competition. I’ve become much more consistent,” said the Norwegian.
The rest of the field includes Sam Kendricks (USA), Renaud Lavillenie (FRA), the record holder for appearances in Lausanne with 16 participations, Zachary Bradford (USA), Kurtis Marschall (AUS), who defeated Duplantis in Stockholm earlier this year, KC Lightfoot (USA), Baptiste Thiery (FRA), bronze medallist in Birmingham, Ernest John Obiena (PHI), Chris Nilsen (USA) and Zachary Bradford (USA).
