Duplantis Ups His Meet Record In City Event, But Rival Karalis Is Making Pole Vault More Competitive

By Kit Holden for DyeStat/Vinco

Photos by Diamond League AG

The Wanda Diamond League returned with a bang on Friday, as several meeting records tumbled in Lausanne.

Here’s what we learned at the 2026 edition of Athletissima:

Karalis getting closer

Mondo Duplantis and Manolo Karalis delivered a battle for the ages at the city event on Thursday evening. In front of a raucous crowd on the shores of Lake Geneva, Duplantis smashed his own meeting record with 6.21 meters while Karalis broke his outdoor best with 6.16 meters. It was the first time in history that two men had jumped over 6.10 meters in the same competition and a sign perhaps that Karalis is getting ever closer to his once unbeatable Swedish rival.

While Duplantis has suffered two defeats in the Diamond League this season, the Greek is only jumping higher. “It’s always nice to put on a good show,” he said after an exhausting evening. “Hopefully we can come here next year and jump as high as Mondo.” 

Future is bright for fearless Moll

While Karalis and Duplantis soaked up the evening sun in the men’s pole vault, the women had to negotiate trickier conditions in the Stade de la Pontaise on Friday night. It was the USA’s Hana Moll who responded best, clearing 4.84 meters at her third and final attempt to snatch victory from home favourite Angelica Moser. It was a first Diamond League win and a first professional win overseas for the 21-year-old American, who is looking increasingly confident among the global elite of her discipline. “The two words that I was putting in my mind were fearless and fierce, and I think I just really channeled that energy,” she said. 

White’s first win

Moll wasn’t the only first-time Diamond League winner on Friday, as her compatriot Kayla White also stormed to her first victory in the series in the women’s 200 meters. After Jamaican favourite Shericka Jackson pulled up injured mid-race, White blazed through in lane seven to clock 22.18 ahead of European champion Amy Hunt. The win was a long time coming for the 29-year-old, who had run 13 Diamond League races without a win since her series debut back in 2019. But good things come to those who wait, and White was brimming with confidence as she set her sights on the Diamond League Final next month: “I think the more I run the 200, the faster I get, and I don't think I'm going downhill from here.”

Russell unstoppable

Another American who is going anywhere but downhill is Masai Russell, who continued her electric form in the 100-meter hurdles with an imperious 12.27, the fastest time ever seen at Athletissima. The 26-year-old has now broken a meeting record in all five of her Diamond League races this season, topping the standings with an eye-watering 40 points. Russell described her performance as “sloppy” after the race, a reminder that her ultimate goal remains the world record of 12.12. Yet whether or not she manages to break that mark in the last few weeks of the season, it will take something extraordinary to stop the American in this kind of form. 

Broeders-Bol getting better

Russell’s was one of five meeting records in Lausanne, and the one that got the biggest cheer was undoubtedly Audrey Werro’s 1:55.33 in the women’s 800 meters. After some murmurings of a world record attempt ahead of the race, Werro’s legs proved too tired after a tough European Championships, and she had to dig deep to hold off a late challenge from Femke Broeders-Bol in second. Despite missing out on her first 800-meter victory, Broeders-Bol had the broadest of smiles as she crossed the finish line in a new Dutch record of 1:55.41. The former hurdler has taken to her new event quicker than anyone expected, and she is now quite literally breathing down the necks of Werro, Keely Hodgkinson and the rest.