He almost flew. And at 5.90 meters, he looked down on that coach who had told him, at 13, and for many years afterwards, “Black people don’t do pole vaulting; you and your mother should go back to your country.”
In the split second of his flight, he saw his classmates who had marginalised him and his twin sister because of their skin colour, calling them “the black kids.” As soon as he landed, he put it all aside, donned the broadest smile, and wrapped himself in the Greek flag, making it clear once and for all that being Greek is not defined by the colour of your skin.
Emmanouil Karalis, with a Greek father and a Ugandan mother, who also lived her whole life in Greece and was involved in sports, experienced racism many times. But he didn’t let it keep him down. He took the racist coach to court.
“My mother filed the first complaint when I was a minor, and when I turned 18, I filed a complaint myself because it had gone on for too long. From the age of 13 to 21, it was a constant nuisance. He was the coach of another athlete, a very good one. We took it to court, and he was charged by the Federation. The Fan Committee banned him from the stadiums for a while, and we went to the highest sports courts, where he was also convicted. He was deemed a racist, and he is a racist,” Emmanuel Karalis had said two years ago.
However, when you’re pressured from all sides, when your right to feel a country as your homeland is questioned, when you constantly have to prove who you are, and when you have to explain, “I’m Greek, but I’m black,” your soul hurts. “I’m tired and feel completely exhausted,” Karalis announced two years ago. “I’m stopping here for the season. I need rest to focus on my mental health. I have to take a step back and take a break to regain my smile.”
Even making that statement, publicly acknowledging that he had panic attacks and depression, took courage. And after taking that break, he came back stronger to win an Olympic medal.
“Now that I’ve calmed down, I think about everything I’ve been through as an athlete and as a person. The difficulties, depression, racism, injuries. I can say that all of this made me who I am today. Strong, confident, a third Olympic medalist,” he declared after his victory, sending a valuable message: “What I want to tell young people is to believe in their dreams. This world is very difficult, but with perseverance and patience, with self-belief, you will achieve great things.”