Star athlete Emmanouil “Manolo” Karalis won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympic Games in the pole vault finals on Monday night and he was glorified on social media. The young vaulter known in the country as “Manolo” won a medal not only with his leap but also he won the hearts of people with his ethics and positive energy despite having suffered racism in the past.
24-year-old Manolo managed 5.90 m in his third effort, after single tries of vaulting through 5.50 m and 5.85 m.
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Karalis secured the third place after Sweden’s Armand Duplantis – with an astounding new world record of 6.25 m – and the USA’s Sam Kendricks with 5.95 m.
It is the first Olympic medal for the young athlete and the 6th for Greece in the Olympic Games 2024.
Karalis won the silver medal at the 2019 and 2021 European Athletics U23 Championships and placed fourth at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Excited about his victory, he posted on social media with a picture celebrating together with his family “I DON’T BELIEVE IT”, while in another post he spoke of “the best Monday of my life!”
The son of a Greek father from Pyrgos, Peloponnese, and a Ugandan mother is considered as “the personification of positive energy”, despite the racism and bullying he suffered also by athletes and trainers.
Racism & Bullying
Speaking to state-broadcaster ERT after his victory in Paris, Karalis spoke about all the difficulties he faced in his life until he reached the podium of the Olympic Games.
“Now that I’ve calmed down, I think about what I’ve been through as an athlete, as a person. The difficulties, the depression, the racism, the injuries. I can say that all these made me the person I am now. Strong, confident, a third Olympian. I’m not an expert, I get through moments, I’ll have good ones and bad ones. I am 24.”
In an older interview he had said that when he and his sister were kids they were bullied by other children in school who were telling them “go back to your country. They would push us and then my sister and I would go to a bench, would sit down and cry.”
His message to young children on Monday is to never give up and follow their dreams.
“What I want to say to young children is to believe in their dreams. This world is very difficult, but with persistence and patience, with faith in yourself, you will do things.”
In recent past Karalis dared to denounce well-known trainer of the Sports Federation for “racist behavior.” The man is still a trainer.
Well done, Manolo! Bravo! We are proud of you not only for the 5.90 and the medal!
PS What a shame for the X account of the Hellenic Olympic Committee that posted a “leap of 4.90 m” and did not delete it hours after it received hundreds of negative comments.
🥉Ο φοβερός και τρομερός Εμμανουήλ Καραλής κατέκτησε το χάλκινο μετάλλιο στο άλμα επί κοντώ στους Ολυμπιακούς Αγώνες στο Παρίσι.
👉Με άλμα 4.90 πήρε την τρίτη θέση για το πρώτο Ολυμπιακό μετάλλιο στη συλλογή του και το έκτο για την Ελλάδα έως τώρα στη διοργάνωση!
💯Μπράβο Μανόλο pic.twitter.com/pkG3DNCkW3— Ηellenic Olympic Committee (@HellenicOlympic) August 5, 2024
When Karalis passed into the finals, the Committee account did not bother to seek for Manolo’s account (@FlyManoloFly) but tagged a random “Manolo”, an IT man in California, who was certainly stunned to read he participated in the Olympics in Paris and was also going to the finals in pole vault.
Also this tweet was not deleted despite the angry reactions by Greek users and was left to ciculate for hours if not for days.
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