Karalis: “I feel proud, we will all enjoy Fly Athens”

At the press conference for the “Fly Athens 2024” pole vault next Sunday in Kallimarmaro, there were the organizer of the meeting, fourth Olympic medalist and “silver” European champion last Wednesday in Rome, Emmanuel Karalis, his fellow competitor, six-meter pole vault champion, Piotr Lisek, the champion of the competition, Eleni Pollak, and the President of the Culture, Sports and Youth Organization of the Municipality of Athens, Eleni Zontirou.

The president of OPANDA took the floor first, emphasizing, among other things, the following: “We are very proud to be co-organizing this match this year in such an emblematic venue. It’s not just a race, it’s a party, a celebration of sports, which we are very proud to participate in and support and we want guys like Emmanuel Karalis to make us proud,” congratulating both Karalis on his recent success at the European Athletics Championships , as well as the two other champions who attended the panel.

Emmanuel Karalis, as organizer of the meeting, took the floor to emphasize that he feels very happy to compete in his own meeting as European runner-up and to emphasize that his first goal is for everyone to enjoy the race. “I am very happy to have these people around me and it will be a very dynamic event that we will all enjoy,” he said, adding that he will compete just days after his triumph in Rome:

“I feel very proud and this gives me a very big boost for my psychology for the Olympics, despite my injury, as I have hit my leg and struggled with pain. I would like to have a few days with my family to rest after Sunday and, after having had a good race, and to continue the whole effort until the Olympics”.

Piotr Lisek, who has quite a large collection of medals from international events, emphasized that he feels very happy that he will finally compete in the meeting of his good friend, Manolos, and that he will participate in all this, but also that he enjoys the hospitality of the Karalis family . He emphasized that with Karalis they have “built” such a relationship that allows them to be friends outside the stadiums and to be fellow athletes in the competition, to have a noble rivalry and healthy competition without spoiling their friendship, which he emphasized that , for him, is particularly important.

Finally, Eleni-Claudia Pollak, who after her participation in the European Championships in Rome, but also shortly after the 4.60m she did in the Balkan Championships, emphasized her joy that the specific meeting will also have a women’s race which will be, also, in the silver category of the Continental tour, she took the floor and emphasized that her first goal is to enjoy her race. She explained that she likes street races a lot, as the atmosphere is more relaxed and it’s not exactly a competition ground, which makes it easier to enjoy the whole race.

The women’s match starts at 16:00, while the men’s at 19:00. The matches will be shown live on ERTFLIX, while admission is free.

The meeting is co-organized by the Municipality of Athens-O.P.A.N.D.A. and Olympiacos, while it is held under the auspices of the World Athletics Federation, the Hellenic Olympic Committee, SEGAS, the Ministry of Culture and the EOT.