The starting field of pole vaulters at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe is becoming increasingly high profile. The two top German jumpers Bo Kanda Lita Baehre and Oleg Zernikel are now joined by two six-metre jumpers and one who has fond memories of the INIT INDOOR MEETING. First, as one of the illustrious circle of six-metre jumpers, is the Brazilian Thiago Braz, a highly decorated as Olympic champion at the Rio 2016 Games and silver medallist at Tokyo 2020, with a personal best of 6.03 metres. Who can forget his epic duel with Renaud Lavillenie at the 2016 Olympic Games, which he won? Thiago Braz also competed at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe, but failed to make an attempt. At that meeting in 2018, Raphael Holzdeppe won with a personal indoor best of 5.88 metres. Now the 33-year-old Holzdeppe, who won the bronze medal at the London Games in 2012 and became world champion in Moscow a year later, wants to make a new start in Karlsruhe after a knee injury that cost him his fourth Olympic participation. In addition, KC Lightfoot is an athlete who thrilled spectators last year by taking second place with his strong jump of over 5.89 metres. He was only beaten by Armand Duplantins, who jumped a meeting record that day. The best mark of the 23-year-old US boy, who finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, is exactly six metres.
