Duplantis withdraws as a precaution in Brussels and clears the way for Karalis in pole vault

Minutes before the start of the Diamond League Final in Brussels, the news arrived: Armand "Mondo" Duplantis, the man who has rewritten the pole vault world record roughly a dozen times, would not be competing. A leg issue forced him to withdraw as a precaution. Without the Swede on the track, Greek Emmanouil Karalis left no doubt: he dominated the competition with a jump of 6.12 meters, a mark that became the meet record. For anyone who follows track and field, this is more than a footnote: it's a reminder that even the world's best constantly negotiate with their bodies, competition after competition.

The context

The Diamond League is the most prestigious league in world track and field, a series of meets that brings together year after year the greatest figures in track and field in various events. Its season-ending final—like the one contested in Brussels—crowns champions in each discipline and typically marks the close of an extremely long year of competitions, travel, and accumulated fatigue.

Duplantis has been, without exaggeration, the absolute dominant force in pole vault in recent years: successive world records, devastating consistency, and an ability to elevate the entire discipline. That he withdrew "as a precaution"—not a confirmed injury or mid-competition abandonment—is a decision typical of a well-advised elite athlete: to feel something odd in the leg and decide that that day, that jump, isn't worth the risk.

Karalis, for his part, didn't win by default. He jumped 6.12 meters, an excellent mark that shows the level of world pole vault no longer depends on a single name. Duplantis's absence opened the door, yes, but it was Karalis who crossed it with authority.

What the science says

Decisions to "withdraw as a precaution" aren't dramatic gestures: they're part of well-founded risk management. The sports literature on bone stress injuries and overuse (Warden et al., 2014) shows that ignoring early signals of discomfort—especially in structures that receive repetitive, intense loads, as occurs in the push-off and takeoff in pole vault—can turn minor discomfort into a weeks- or months-long injury. Pole vault, in particular, demands a brutal combination of running speed, explosive strength, and an energy transfer that punishes ankles, knees, and hips with every attempt.

There is also solid evidence on safe return-to-activity processes following discomfort (George et al., 2024, on tibial bone injuries), which insists on a simple but powerful principle: gradual progression and body awareness prevent far more serious setbacks. An athlete of Duplantis's caliber, with a calendar that includes Diamond League, world championships, and Olympic Games, cannot afford to force a questionable leg in an exhibition final when what's at stake in the long run is an entire season—or several.

Additionally, the phenomenon of accumulated fatigue in endurance and power athletes (Azevedo et al., 2021) explains why, at the end of a very long season, the body begins to send signals it previously ignored. It's not weakness: it's information.

What it means for you

Even if you don't pole vault, the lesson applies directly to your training as a runner:

• Listening to discomfort early is worth more than "pushing through." If you feel something odd before a key race, evaluate the real risk: is it worth risking weeks of training for a race you'll forget about in a month?
• End-of-season fatigue is real. If you've been accumulating races and intense sessions for months, your body will also alert you. Learning to read those signals—and acting with the same decisiveness as an Olympic athlete—is part of training intelligently, not fearfully.
• A preventive withdrawal is not a defeat. Duplantis lost nothing by withdrawing: he protected what really matters. Apply that same logic to your road races: DNS (did not start) or DNF (did not finish) as a precaution is, often, the smartest move on the calendar.

The pole vault in Brussels had a new king for one night. But the real story is one of a champion who knew, in seconds, that this wasn't his day to take the risk.

References

• "Management and prevention of bone stress injuries in long-distance runners." Warden SJ, Davis IS, Fredericson M, J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 2014. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25103133/
• "Criteria and Guidelines for Returning to Running Following a Tibial Bone Stress Injury: A Scoping Review." George ERM, Sheerin KR, Reid D, Sports Med, 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39141251/
• "Fatigue development and perceived response during self-paced endurance exercise: state-of-the-art review." Azevedo RA, Silva-Cavalcante MD, Lima-Silva AE, Eur J Appl Physiol, 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33389141/