Rodrigue Kwizera successfully defended his title &ndash; and that of his club &ndash; to win at the Cross Internacional das Amendoeiras em Flor, the penultimate World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting of the season, in Albufeira on Sunday (8).
The Burundian, competing in the colours of Playas Castellon as the event once again doubled as the European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country, was a comfortable winner of the senior men&rsquo;s race, while Kenya&rsquo;s Mirriam Cherop produced an equally decisive victory in the women&rsquo;s contest. Both senior races were held over 9.28km on the Algarve course.
A large lead pack formed early in the men&rsquo;s race, covering the opening lap in 5:52 with Kwizera prominent alongside Kenya&rsquo;s Charles Rotich and Uganda&rsquo;s Oscar Chelimo. The pace remained steady through the second lap (11:20), but the front group began to thin as the leading trio continued to dictate proceedings.
By the end of the third lap (16:46), the contenders had been reduced to five athletes: Kwizera, Chelimo, Rotich, Kenya&rsquo;s Victor Kimosop and Spain&rsquo;s European cross-country champion Thierry Ndikumwenayo. The decisive move began to take shape shortly after the 6km mark when Kwizera and Chelimo broke clear of the others.
They reached the lap-four checkpoint in 22:02, holding an eight-second advantage over Kimosop and Rotich. Chelimo stayed close to Kwizera through the latter stages, but the defending champion found another gear inside the final kilometre to secure his third victory in Albufeira in 27:19.
Chelimo followed 10 seconds later in 27:29, with Rotich completing the podium in 27:32 after winning the battle for third.
The team standings reflected the individual outcome with Playas Castellon &ndash; led by Kwizera &ndash; winning gold ahead of Chelimo&rsquo;s ATL Casone.
The women&rsquo;s race also began with a sizeable lead group, covering the first lap in 6:50 with Cherop and Jackline Rotich setting the early tempo. Burundi&rsquo;s Elvanie Nimbona remained well positioned, while Portugal&rsquo;s Carolina Robles and Great Britain&rsquo;s Lucy Jones were also part of the early contention.
By lap two (13:09), the lead group had reduced to nine athletes, with Cherop, Rotich, Nimbona and Robles still prominent. The race continued to stretch out on the third lap (19:27), the leading quartet gradually asserting control. The same four athletes remained at the front at the end of lap four (25:43).
Cherop made the decisive move at about the 8km mark. Rotich initially attempted to respond, but Nimbona and Campos were unable to maintain contact as the Kenyan surged clear.
Cherop went on to win convincingly in 31:36, becoming the first Kenyan winner in Albufeira since 2020. Rotich secured second place in 31:50, just ahead of Nimbona (31:52), while Robles finished fourth in 32:01.
In the team standings, SC Braga retained their title ahead of Fenerbahce.
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women (9.28km) 1 Mirriam Cherop (KEN) 31:36 2 Jackline Rotich (KEN) 31:50 3 Elvanie Nimbona (BDI) 31:52 4 Carolina Robles (ESP) 32:01 5 Idaira Prieto (ESP) 32:10 6 Mariana Machado (POR) 32:17 7 S&uuml;meyye Erol (TUR) 32:26 8 Derya Kunur (TUR) 32:30
Men (9.28km) 1 Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI) 27:19 2 Oscar Chelimo (UGA) 27:29 3 Charles Rotich (KEN) 27:32 4 Victor Kimosop (KEN) 27:42 5 Thierry Ndikumwenayo (ESP) 27:45 6 Abdessamad Oukhelfen (ESP) 27:48 7 Miguel Angel Mart&iacute;nez (ESP) 27:51 8 Luca Alfieri (ITA) 28:23

Rodrigue Kwizera successfully defended his title – and that of his club – to win at the Cross Internacional das Amendoeiras em Flor

Kwizera and Cherop dominate in Albufeira

World Athletics and the LA28 Organising Committee have&nbsp;<a href="https://la28.org/en/games-plan/olympics.html#olympic-competition-schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published the updated athletics competition timetable by session and event</a>&nbsp;for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.&nbsp;
The detailed schedule builds on the competition framework announced in November and reflects ongoing coordination between World Athletics, LA28 and broadcast partners.&nbsp;
A small number of refinements have been made to the women&rsquo;s 400m and 400m hurdles schedule, while&nbsp;round one of&nbsp;the men&rsquo;s&nbsp;1500m has moved from the morning to the afternoon session on day two of competition (Sunday 16 July). Minor start-time adjustments have also been made in consultation with broadcast partners.&nbsp;
As with the&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/los-angeles-28-olympics-athletics-schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original timetable announced in November</a>, the schedule has been developed through close collaboration between World Athletics, LA28 and key stakeholders, balancing athlete preparation and recovery considerations, competition presentation, venue&nbsp;operations&nbsp;and global broadcast requirements.&nbsp;
World Athletics will continue working with LA28 in the lead-up to the Games to ensure the athletics programme delivers the best possible experience for athletes,&nbsp;fans&nbsp;and broadcasters.&nbsp;
The updated athletics competition schedule can be&nbsp;<a href="https://la28.org/en/games-plan/olympics.html#olympic-competition-schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">viewed on the LA28 website</a>.
World Athletics

The XXXIV Olympic Games

World Athletics and the LA28 Organising Committee have published the updated athletics competition timetable by session and event

LA28 Olympic Games athletics session timetable published

A US quartet of Clay Pender, Luke Houser, Luciano Fiore and Sean Dolan took a second off the world short track 4x800m record* with their winning time of 7:10.29 at the Penn Classic in Philadelphia on Friday (6).
Their performance was a 1.01-second improvement on the previous mark of 7:11.30 set by another US squad in 2018 the rarely contested discipline.
The race was close in the early stages as the University of Pennsylvania&rsquo;s home team led for the first leg with Joseph Socarras reaching the first exchange in 1:49.06, ahead of Pender (1:49.69).
World indoor 1500m bronze medallist Luke Houser then took up the running for the US team and gained the lead on the second of his four laps. Houser completed his leg in 1:47.47, building up a two-second lead and giving his team a shot at breaking the record.
Luciano Fiore extended their lead on the third leg thanks to his 1:47.35 split. By the time Sean Dolan took the baton for the final leg, the US quartet had a six-second lead. The NACAC U23 silver medallist extended that to 12 seconds, thanks to his 1:45.79 anchor leg, bringing the team home in 7:10.29.
The University of Pennsylvania finished a distant second in 7:22.43.
World Athletics
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure

A US quartet of Clay Pender, Luke Houser, Luciano Fiore and Sean Dolan took a second off the world short track 4x800m record with their winning time of 7:10.29 at the Penn Classic

USA breaks world short track 4x800m record

Spain&rsquo;s Mohamed Attaoui thrilled the home crowd at the Madrid World Indoor Tour Gold meeting on Thursday (6), breaking the European short track 1000m record with 2:14.52. Agate de Sousa&rsquo;s meeting record of 6.97m in the long jump, meanwhile, was one of three world leads achieved in the Spanish capital.
The men&rsquo;s 1000m had been billed as an assault on Ayanleh Souleiman&rsquo;s world short track record of 2:14.20. Attaoui was on course to break that mark for much of the way; though he ultimately missed that mark by just 0.32, the 24-year-old was still rewarded with a European record &ndash; breaking Wilson Kipketer&rsquo;s mark of 2:14.96 from 2000 &ndash; and the third-fastest indoor performance in history.
Perfectly paced by Poland&rsquo;s Filip Ostrowski, Attaoui went through the opening lap in 26.75 and reached 400m in 53.22. The cadence slowed slightly during the next laps as the pacesetter dropped out just before 800m, which was covered in 1:47.58, just 0.03 outside the required record pace.
Over the closing lap, the European silver medallist could not accelerate enough to recover that loss and finished in 2:14.52. Fellow Spaniards Mariano Garc&iacute;a and Adri&aacute;n Ben finished some way behind in second and third in 2:16.40 and 2:16.80 respectively.
&ldquo;I regret announcing the record attempt as I was quite nervous,&rdquo; said Attaoui. &ldquo;But I also know that without that I wouldn&rsquo;t have performed in front of a capacity crowd &ndash; they pushed me throughout. I missed the record, but I&rsquo;m satisfied with my performance and the European record.&rdquo;
De Sousa was similarly dominant in the women&rsquo;s long jump. The European bronze medallist from Portugal took an early lead with 6.76m before fouling her next two attempts. She then extended her lead in round four with 6.97m, an indoor PB and world-leading mark.
The World Championships sixth-place finisher didn&rsquo;t improve in the final two rounds but finished comfortably ahead of Spain&rsquo;s Irati Mitxelena (6.70m) and Sweden&rsquo;s Khaddi Sagnia (6.67m).
The other world-leading mark of the meeting came from USA&rsquo;s Jordan Geist, who equalled his season&rsquo;s best of 22.04m to win the men&rsquo;s shot put.
It was a thrilling contest throughout, between Geist, US compatriot Roger Steen and Jamaica&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Rajindra Campbell. Geist took the lead in the opening round with 21.56m, but Steen responded with 21.80m in round two.
The fireworks came in round four when Campbell produced a season&rsquo;s best of 21.94m to move into the lead, but Geist regained first place with 22.04m, equalling the world-leading mark he set in Ostrava three days ago.
After two high-quality races in the 60m hurdles heats &ndash; won by France&rsquo;s world indoor silver medallist Wilhem Belocian (7.51) and Spain&rsquo;s Enrique Llopis (7.49) &ndash; the final didn&rsquo;t disappoint.
Llopis not only emerged victorious &ndash; much to the delight of the home crowd &ndash; he also set a national record by three hundredths with 7.45, the second-fastest performance on this season&rsquo;s world list. Llopis, who will be chasing his first medal at a global championships next month at the World Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26, prevailed over Italy&rsquo;s European champion Lorenzo Simonelli (7.50), USA&rsquo;s Jamal Britt (7.51) and Belocian (7.54).
<h2>Haylom and Werro win again</h2>
Just days after notching up victories in other World Indoor Tour meets, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Birke Haylom and Switzerland&rsquo;s Audrey Werro triumphed again in the middle-distance events.
In the women&rsquo;s 1500m, Haylom tracked the pacemakers for most of the way. She was briefly overtaken by world and Olympic medallist Nadia Battocletti with about 320m to go, but Haylom regained the lead and went on to win comfortably in 4:02.37. Battocletti held on for second, equalling Marta Zenoni&rsquo;s Italian record of 4:03.59, while Ethiopia&rsquo;s Saron Berhe was third (4:04.39).
The women&rsquo;s 800m may not have been as fast as anticipated, but it ended with a close finish between Werro and world indoor silver medallist Nigist Getachew. Neither athlete followed the pacemaker, reaching halfway just inside 59 seconds with Getachew ahead. Werro eventually passed the Ethiopian on the home straight to win narrowly, 2:00.68 to 2:00.76.
Spain&rsquo;s European U23 silver medallist Roc&iacute;o Arroyo was the fastest athlete overall, winning the earlier B race in a lifetime best of 1:59.97.
The men&rsquo;s 3000m was won by South Africa&rsquo;s Tshepo Tshite on his second appearance over the distance in 7:39.11, ahead of Uruguay&rsquo;s Valentin Soca (7:39.98), who edged Ethiopia&rsquo;s Getnet Wale (7:39.98) in the closing stages.
European indoor champion Lieke Klaver had suggested at the pre-event press conference that she could produce a strong performance following her 51.00 season debut three days earlier in Ostrava. The 27-year-old Dutch athlete went out aggressively, passing halfway in 23.25. She slowed significantly in the second half but still won comfortably in 51.26, while Spain&rsquo;s Blanca Herv&aacute;s finished second in 51.59.
Elsewhere, France&rsquo;s Laeticia Bapte won the women&rsquo;s 60m hurdles by the narrowest of margins over USA&rsquo;s Alaysha Johnson, both timed at 7.90. USA&rsquo;s Charity Hufnagel then won the women&rsquo;s high jump with a second-attempt clearance at 1.96m, a career best, ahead of Poland&rsquo;s Maria Zodzik (1.94m). In the men&rsquo;s 60m, Oman&rsquo;s Ali Anwar Al-Balushi won in 6.53 ahead of Cuba&rsquo;s Jenns Fernandez (6.56).
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
<ul>
<li><a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/calendar-results/7229626/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a></li>
</ul>

Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui thrilled the home crowd at the Madrid World Indoor Tour Gold meeting

Attaoui breaks European short track 1000m record in Madrid as De Sousa leaps to world lead

There are two weeks to go until the opening of the MOWA Indoor Athletics Exhibition, a month-long celebration of indoor track &amp; field staged in partnership with the local organising committee of the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26 and TORUŃ PLAZA, the region&rsquo;s largest shopping centre.
The exhibition opens on Friday 20 February and runs through to Sunday 22 March 2026, during the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26 (20-22 March 2026).
The exhibition will be officially opened on the evening of Friday 20 February by a host of Polish and international stars, led by current Polish Athletics Association president Sebastian Chmara, the first Pole to win an individual world indoor title, and race walking legend Robert Korzeniowski &ndash; a four-time Olympic champion, three-time world champion, and silver medallist at the 1993 World Indoor Championships.
The exhibition &ndash; which is open to the public and free to enter from Saturday 21 February &ndash; brings together MOWA&rsquo;s unique indoor athletics collection of competition clothing, shoes, medals and equipment donated by many of the world&rsquo;s all-time greatest indoor track and field performers. Supported by original photographs, video and narrative panels, the display traces the history of indoor track and field from 1970 to 2025.
New attractions on display include:
<ul>
<li>the complete competition kit of the &lsquo;Indoor Queen&rsquo; Nelli Cooman (NED) from the 1985 European Indoor Championships, where she claimed the first of her eight European and world titles at 60m;</li>
<li>the singlet and spikes <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage/news/marcus-osullivan-indoor-1500m-mile-ireland-1987" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marcus O&rsquo;Sullivan (IRL) wore at the 1987 World Indoor Championships</a>, marking the first of his three world titles over 1500m;</li>
<li>the competition suit worn by Devynne Charlton (BAH) when she won the world title and set the world record in the 60m hurdles at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Polish athletics history</h2>
In addition to the athlete artefacts, the exhibition reflects on the rich history of Polish athletics. As a result, visitors will be greeted by hammer and discus throw displays, disciplines that have defined some of the finest successes of Polish athletics, and previously unseen archival material, including the official 1919 application letter from the Polish Athletics Association seeking admission to the international federation.
MOWA also brings athletics into the architectural scale of TORUŃ PLAZA: life-size vertical-jump cutouts (men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s high jump and pole vault world records) will be displayed on the shopping-centre lift to give visitors a visceral sense of &ldquo;where the bar sits&rdquo;. A hands-on shot-put activation will showcase the actual implements used by champions and a to-scale projection of championship record distances will cross the mall&rsquo;s central hall so visitors can experience the space that world-class throws cover.
A donation ceremony will be hosted at the exhibition at 3pm on Saturday 21 March by World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, alongside Michael H Burke, the Founding Patron of MOWA, and will welcome champions who have left a lasting mark on the history of indoor athletics.
Pierre-Jean Vazel for World Athletics Heritage
&nbsp;
<hr />
&nbsp;
<h3>MOWA exhibition details</h3>
Date: Friday 20 February &ndash; Sunday 22 March 2026 Location: Toruń PLAZA, Centrum Handlowo&ndash;Rozrywkowe, ul. Broniewskiego 90, 87-100 Toruń Opening hours: 9:00 &ndash; 21:00 daily Admission: Free
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World Athletics Indoor Championships

There are two weeks to go until the opening of the MOWA Indoor Athletics Exhibition

MOWA Indoor Athletics Exhibition opens 20 February in Torun

If Eamonn Coghlan was Ireland&rsquo;s &lsquo;Chairman of the Boards&rsquo;, then Marcus O&rsquo;Sullivan was the Chief Executive.
Between them, the two Irishmen were the masters of the indoor mile and its metric equivalent from the middle of the 1970s right through to the early 1990s. Both were products of that vaunted Stateside finishing school of Irish middle-distance maestros, Villanova University, and the trajectory of their careers intersected over the course of two compelling indoor seasons in the mid-1980s.
O&rsquo;Sullivan, the junior by nine years, got the better of his celebrated compatriot in an unbeaten 1986 campaign, inflicting Coghlan&rsquo;s first indoor mile loss for five years.
At the age of 34, a rejuvenated Coghlan regained the upper hand in the opening months of 1987, beating his young compatriot to claim a record seventh Wanamaker Mile win and clocking a world indoor best at 2000m before heading to the inaugural World Athletics Indoor Championships in Indianapolis as favourite for the 1500m.
As fate would have it, though, the native Dubliner who struck gold at the first outdoor World Championships in Helsinki in 1983 failed to make it beyond the heats in the Hoosier Dome. After making up a 30-metre loss from a mid-race tumble, Coghlan paid a heavy price for easing up before the line, losing a qualifying slot as two rivals nipped past.
It was left to O&rsquo;Sullivan to grasp the hand of history. The 25-year-old from Cork produced a textbook performance in the final to become his country&rsquo;s first world indoor champion &ndash; proudly sporting the green Irish vest that he has kindly donated to the <a href="https://tinyurl.com/visitMOWA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Museum of World Athletics</a>, together with the spikes that carried him to victory that day, 7 March 1987.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6985db224a2ca21610469ea9.jpg" alt="Marcus O'Sullivan's singlet and spikes from the 1987 World Indoor Championships" />
<div>
Marcus O'Sullivan's singlet and spikes from the 1987 World Indoor Championships
</div>
</div>
Watched by a crowd of 20,023 &ndash; a record for an indoor athletics event at the time &ndash; O&rsquo;Sullivan bided his time, second from the back of the nine-man field. Meanwhile, Jim Spivey &ndash; a big local hope, as the star of the Indiana University team &ndash; cut out the early pace.
<h2>Building an indoor champion</h2>
The slightly built Irishman glided through the field when Jose Abascal made his break approaching the 1000m mark, then nipped inside Spivey at the bell before slugging out a thrilling duel with the Spaniard who had taken Olympic 1500m bronze in 1984. The pair were locked together, side by side, until O&rsquo;Sullivan edged ahead in the final 10 metres to win by 0.09 in 3:39.04.
&ldquo;My legs were coming from under me,&rdquo; he told a trackside interviewer, reflecting on the home-straight scrap. &ldquo;I gave everything I could. I just didn&rsquo;t want to lose, more than wanting to win.&rdquo;
O&rsquo;Sullivan had to work hard to make the grade as a middle-distance man. He left school as a 4:25 miler and spent a year grafting as a sailmaker before emerging as a 4:05 exponent worthy of a Villanova scholarship.
For his first six months, he was guided by Jumbo Elliott, the veteran coach who moulded Ron Delany into an Olympic champion. After Elliott&rsquo;s sudden death in 1981, Tom Donnelly assumed stewardship and proceeded to steer O&rsquo;Sullivan to a hat-trick of world indoor 1500m titles, a world indoor 1500m record, five Wanamaker Mile wins, and a quartet of Olympic appearances.
Above all of his accomplishments, O&rsquo;Sullivan treasures most the collection of 101 sub-four-minute miles that he racked up between 1983 and 1998.
&ldquo;It means so much to me because it represents who I was as an athlete,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I was a flogger who kept on going to work every day.&rdquo;
For the past 27 years, O&rsquo;Sullivan has been going to work as track coach at Villanova. At the age of 64, he still holds a share of the 4x1mile global best of 15:49.08 achieved in 1985. O&rsquo;Sullivan clocked the fastest split, 3:55.3, the baton having passed from the Chairman of the Boards to the future Chief Executive.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage 
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&nbsp;

If Eamonn Coghlan was Ireland’s ‘Chairman of the Boards’, then Marcus O’Sullivan was the Chief Executive.

Green, white and gold in abundance: O’Sullivan’s indoor legacy

Rodrigue Kwizera defends his title against Thierry Ndikumwenayo, Charles Rotich and Oscar Chelimo when the top four from last year&rsquo;s senior men&rsquo;s race clash again at the Cross Internacional das Amendoeiras em Flor &ndash; the penultimate World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting of the season &ndash; in Albufeira on Sunday (8).
Three-time winner Likina Amebaw, who currently sits second in the World Cross Country Tour standings, leads the entries for the women&rsquo;s race.
As has been the case many times in the past, the Cross Internacional das Amendoeiras em Flor again doubles as the European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country.&nbsp;
Kwizera clinched his second victory in Albufeira last year, racing for his Spanish club Playas de Castellon. Making his season debut, the 26-year-old will renew his rivalry with Spain&rsquo;s Ndikumwenayo, the European cross-country champion who is a two-time winner in Albufeira and who finished runner-up to Kwizera last year.
Kwizera heads into the race in second place on the overall tour standings. He finished first or second in four Cross Country Tour Gold races &ndash; in Seville, Soria, Atapuerca and Alcobendas &ndash; in November and the event in Albufeira is his first since then.
Ndikumwenayo, meanwhile, followed his European cross-country title win in Lagoa in December with an eighth-place finish at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee last month. He then placed fourth at the Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in Elgoibar.
The clubmates star in a rematch with Kenya&rsquo;s Rotich and Uganda&rsquo;s 2022 world 5000m bronze medallist Chelimo, who completed the top four in Albufeira last year.
Also joining them on the start line is Kwizera&rsquo;s compatriot Egide Ntakarutimana, who won at the Campaccio last month.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Amebaw will target her fourth win in Albufeira when she lines up for the senior women&rsquo;s event, also racing for Playas de Castellon.
She returns to cross-country action after running a 10km PB of 29:29 &ndash; a time that places her sixth on the world all-time list &ndash; in Valencia last month. Before that, she won the 5km at the Cursa dels Nassos in Barcelona and at Cross Country Tour Gold events in Soria and Amorebieta-Etxano.
She didn&rsquo;t race in Albufeira last year but T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s Bahar Yildirim did, finishing second. Yildirim returns, seeking another strong run, and she again faces Portugal&rsquo;s Mariana Machado and Spain&rsquo;s Carolina Robles, who respectively finished third and fifth behind Yildirim last year.
They will be joined by Burundi&rsquo;s Elvanie Nimbona, who was third at the Campaccio, plus Spain&rsquo;s Idaira Prieto and Kenya&rsquo;s Jackline Rotich, who finished fifth in Hannut.
Among those entered for the mixed relay are home stars Isaac Nader, the world 1500m champion, and Salom&eacute; Afonso, the double European indoor medallist.
&nbsp;

Past winners Rodrigue Kwizera, Thierry Ndikumwenayo and Likina Amebaw return to the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting

Kwizera defends title against Ndikumwenayo in Albufeira

World record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh and home star Malaika Mihambo make their World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold season debuts when the INIT Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe returns on Sunday (8).
For many athletes, this season&rsquo;s World Indoor Tour is an important part of the journey to the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26 and, beyond that, an outdoor season that includes the World Athletics Ultimate Championship.
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/watch/live" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6984ed53c24a29de2105c50e.jpg" alt="Karlsruhe WIT 2026 where to watch" /></a>
Ukraine&rsquo;s Mahuchikh has already qualified for the Ultimate Championship as the Olympic high jump champion and she will want to maintain momentum following her strong start to the season in Lviv. There, Mahuchikh cleared an early world lead of 2.03m &ndash; the 24-year-old&rsquo;s best clearance since the world record height of 2.10m she achieved in July 2024.
She returns to Karlsruhe for the first time since 2020, when the then 18-year-old Mahuchikh set a world U20 indoor record of 2.02m. Her rivals that day included her compatriot Yuliya Levchenko and the pair meet again on Sunday, Levchenko fresh from a 1.94m clearance to win in Cottbus. They will be joined by German champion Christina Honsel, Sweden&rsquo;s European indoor bronze medallist Engla Nilsson and Czechia&rsquo;s Michaela Hruba.
The long jump will feature a clash between Germany&rsquo;s Olympic and two-time world gold medallist Mihambo and Italy&rsquo;s Olympic fourth-place finisher Larissa Iapichino.
Mihambo matched her indoor PB and broke a 31-year-old meeting record when she jumped 7.07m to win in Karlsruhe last year and now she defends her title, looking to build on her 6.56m season opener last month in D&uuml;sseldorf.
She will face strong competition, as Iapichino has already cleared 6.93m this year in Ancona. Like Mahuchikh, Iapichino is also back in Karlsruhe for the first time since 2020.
&ldquo;I'm very happy to be back in Karlsruhe, as I gained my first international experience here as a junior athlete,&rdquo; said Iapichino, who jumped 7.06m outdoors last year. &ldquo;I hope I can enjoy it even more this time and thrill the audience.&rdquo;
The field features a third athlete who has surpassed seven metres, Hilary Kpatcha of France, as well as Dutch record-holder Pauline Hondema and Serbia&rsquo;s Milica Garda&scaron;ević.
The men&rsquo;s pole vault pits two-time world medallist Ernest John Obiena against European indoor gold medallists Menno Vloon and Sondre Guttormsen, while 2024 world indoor silver medallist Yasser Triki heads the triple jump field.
<h2>Competitive track clashes in store</h2>
Olympic bronze medallist Georgia Hunter Bell races for the first time this year in the 1500m and faces her British compatriot Jemma Reekie, the 2024 world indoor 800m silver medallist, plus Ethiopia&rsquo;s Birke Haylom, who won in Ostrava in a world lead of 4:00.62. Her 18-year-old compatriot Saron Berhe was second in that race in 4:01.23 &ndash; a time which improved the official world U20 short track record of 4:01.57, subject to ratification &ndash; and they clash again in Karlsruhe.
Britain&rsquo;s two-time world indoor medallist Laura Muir makes her season debut in the 3000m, back at the meeting where she set the European indoor record of 8:26.41 in 2017. She goes up against Ethiopia&rsquo;s two-time world 1500m silver medallist Axumawit Embaye, 2022 world indoor 1500m bronze medallist Hirut Meshesha and 17-year-old Marta Alemayo, who retained her world U20 cross-country title in Tallahassee last month, as well as USA&rsquo;s Elise Cranny and Canada&rsquo;s Gabriela DeBues-Stafford.
The men&rsquo;s race features defending champion Stefan Nillessen, one year on from his Dutch short track record of 7:37.10 in Karlsruhe, against Kenya&rsquo;s world 10,000m fourth-place finisher Ishmael Kipkurui, who finished fifth at the World Cross Country Championships last month, and two-time world 5000m medallist Jacob Krop.
The men&rsquo;s 1500m includes France&rsquo;s multiple European indoor medallist Azeddine Habz and Sweden&rsquo;s defending champion Samuel Pihlstr&ouml;m, who topped the overall World Indoor Tour standings last year, against Belgium&rsquo;s Pieter Sisk, who finished third in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix 2000m in Boston, plus Italy&rsquo;s Federico Riva and Germany&rsquo;s Karl Bebendorf.
The 800m will see Great Britain&rsquo;s 2023 world bronze medallist Ben Pattison, who finished third at the Millrose Games in New York last weekend, take on Kenya&rsquo;s two-time Commonwealth Games champion Wyclife Kinyamal.
USA&rsquo;s world 100m hurdles bronze medallist Grace Stark and Alaysha Johnson are set to go head-to-head in the 60m hurdles, in a field that includes Finland&rsquo;s Reetta Hurske and Ireland&rsquo;s Sarah Lavin.
Egypt&rsquo;s Bassant Hemida and Austria&rsquo;s Susanne Gogl-Walli, who finished in the top two in the second 400m final in Ostrava, race again over two laps, while the men&rsquo;s 60m stars USA&rsquo;s Ronnie Baker, Oman&rsquo;s Ali Al Balushi, Germany&rsquo;s Owen Ansah and Cameroon's Emmanuel Eseme.
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World record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh and home star Malaika Mihambo make their World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold season debuts

Mahuchikh and Mihambo among strong Karlsruhe cast

It was the afternoon everything came together in a glorious crescendo for Kajsa Bergqvist. The setting was the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sporthalle in Arnstadt, the German town where Johann Sebastian Bach spent four years as organist at the Neue Kirche (New Church).
The occasion, on Saturday 4 February 2006, was the 30th edition of Hochsprung mit Musik &ndash; the annual indoor international &ldquo;High Jump With Music&rdquo; meeting. As Mamma Mia blasted over the public address system and the crowd clapped in the tight confines of the hall, Bergqvist slapped her thighs and urged herself on &ndash; &ldquo;Here I go again,&rdquo; perhaps.
<h2>From achilles agony to an unbeaten high-jump streak</h2>
Just 19 months after the agony of an achilles rupture that shattered her Athens Olympic ambitions and threatened to curtail her career, the 28-year-old Stockholmer had found a golden groove in a gilded era for Swedish athletics.
In 17 competitions since the cruel tear in B&aring;stad in July 2004, her only defeats came in two low-key javelin contests: third place, with a personal best of 36.80m, at the Swedish Club Championships in May 2005, and second place, with 34.92m, at a local meeting during a training camp in Stellenbosch in January 2006. In her specialist discipline, however, the Swedish comeback queen was undefeated, a run that included the women&rsquo;s high jump title at the 2005 World Athletics Championships in Helsinki.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/69835a848e299ad15dad2660.jpg" alt="Kajsa Bergqvist in Helsinki" />
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Kajsa Bergqvist in Helsinki (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
<h2>Helsinki confidence, then the world indoor record within reach</h2>
In Helsinki she beat USA&rsquo;s Chaunt&eacute; Howard with a first-time clearance at 2.02m and, buoyed by confidence, raised the bar to 2.10m, producing a strong second attempt at Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova&rsquo;s world record of 2.09m.
In Arnstadt, after securing victory with a first-time success at 2.03m and then clearing 2.05m on her second attempt, her sights shifted to 2.08m, one centimetre above the world indoor record set by the great Heike Henkel at the 1992 German Indoor Championships in Karlsruhe. Fittingly, Henkel was in the crowd as Bergqvist prepared for her first shot at history.
<h2>&ldquo;Something special&rdquo;: the jump, the embrace, the quotes</h2>
You could see in the Swede&rsquo;s ice-blue eyes and steely expression that she believed she would make it. She brushed the bar with her heels but landed on the mat as a world indoor record-breaker. A wild celebratory circuit of the hall followed, then a warm embrace from Henkel, the retired world indoor and outdoor, Olympic, and European indoor and outdoor champion.
&ldquo;I had a feeling something special was going to happen,&rdquo; Bergqvist told Cege Berglund of G&ouml;teborgs-Posten, the long-time master chronicler of Swedish track and field, who sadly died in December 2025. &ldquo;I was really motivated by Heike being here. I&rsquo;m sure it was worth an extra centimetre or two. She&rsquo;s my all-time high jump hero.&rdquo;
Henkel, meanwhile, said: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy that Kajsa is the one who has broken my record. She deserves it because she&rsquo;s turned in consistent performances over the years.&rdquo;
<h2>From late starter to serial medallist</h2>
Born and raised in the municipality of Sollentuna, 14km north of central Stockholm, Bergqvist did not specialise in the high jump until she was 15 after finishing last in that event, and also in the javelin and long jump, at the Swedish U20 Championships. Two years later she won silver at the 1994 World U20 Championships in Lisbon, losing to Russia&rsquo;s Olga Kaliturina in a jump-off.
Coached by Bengt Johnsson, she also finished runner-up at the 1995 European U20 Championships and the 1997 European U23 Championships before making her senior breakthrough with gold at the 2000 European Indoor Championships.
A fortnight after clearing 2.00m in Patras, she repeated the feat in Ghent, winning the European indoor title ahead of Czechia&rsquo;s Zuzana Hlavoňov&aacute; who cleared 1.98m, with her idol Henkel placing eighth. It was the first of her 10 consecutive medals at major championships indoors and out in the first six years of the new millennium, including five golds: European indoor (Ghent 2000), world indoor (Lisbon 2001, Birmingham 2003), European outdoor (Munich 2002) and world outdoor (Helsinki 2005), alongside Olympic bronze (2000), world outdoor bronzes (2001, 2003), European indoor silver (2001) and European outdoor bronze (2006).
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/69835b058e299ad15dad2663.jpg" alt="Kajsa Bergqvist in action at the Sydney Olympics" />
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Kajsa Bergqvist in action at the Sydney Olympics (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
<h2>Twin peaks, a home disappointment and a lasting legacy</h2>
The 2005 world title and the world indoor record set in February 2006 proved the twin peaks of a 15-year international career. Under Yannick Tregaro &ndash; her coach since 2003, the former junior international high jumper who guided Christian Olsson to world and Olympic triple jump glory &ndash; Bergqvist found her way back towards form in the build-up to the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg, coming close to a 2.10m outdoor world record at DN Galan in Stockholm and clearing 2.05m at the London Grand Prix. Yet she could not add to the home gold rush at Ullevi Stadium: while Olsson, Carolina Kl&uuml;ft (heptathlon) and Susanna Kallur (100m hurdles) struck gold, Bergqvist and fellow Swedish high-jump star Stefan Holm had to settle for bronze. In Bergqvist&rsquo;s case, championship-best clearances of 2.03m by Belgium&rsquo;s Tia Hellebaut and Bulgaria&rsquo;s Venelina Veneva left her third on 2.01m.
After placing seventh in the 2007 world final in Osaka, the world indoor record-holder announced her retirement in January 2008. &ldquo;Physically, I am okay, but after a long career I have simply come to the point where I feel it&rsquo;s &lsquo;mission completed&rsquo;,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I look back on my career with great joy and pride.&rdquo;
Two decades on, at the age of 49, Bergqvist remains a major force in Swedish track and field as head coach of the national team. Her 2.08m clearance in Arnstadt still stands unbeaten indoors, with only Yaroslava Mahuchikh (2.10m) and Kostadinova (2.09m) having gone higher, both outdoors.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage 
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It was the afternoon everything came together in a glorious crescendo for Kajsa Bergqvist

The day everything clicked for Bergqvist in Arnstadt

One year on from breaking long-standing meeting records at the Czech Indoor Gala, Belgian 800m runner Eliot Crestan and Hungarian 400m sprinter Attila Molnar returned to the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Ostrava on Tuesday (3) and revised the marks in their respective disciplines.
Crestan catapulted himself up to fourth on the world short track all-time list with his 800m victory of 1:43.83, while Molnar improved the European short track 400m record with 45.01.
They were just two of the six athletes who achieved back-to-back wins and contributed to a strong sense of d&eacute;j&agrave; vu at Ostrava&rsquo;s Atletick&aacute; Hala; other repeat winners included world champions Isaac Nader and Mattia Furlani in the men&rsquo;s 3000m and long jump, as well as Dutch 400m runner Lieke Klaver and Slovenian pole vaulter Tina Sutej.
But on a day when meeting records were broken in nine events, it was Crestan and Molnar who stole the show.
The men&rsquo;s 800m was perfectly paced from the outset and &ndash; unusually for this discipline &ndash; was devoid of any bumping and barging. The pacemaker led through half way in 51.04 with the field already in single file. Poland&rsquo;s Maciej Wyderka led into the final lap, but Crestan &ndash; who has earned silver and bronze medals at the past two editions of both the World Indoors and the European Indoors &ndash; timed his finish to perfection.
The Belgian breezed into the lead and charged through the finish line in 1:43.83, smashing his own meeting record by almost a second and producing his fifth consecutive sub-1:45 indoor 800m final. Wyderka held on for second place in 1:44.07, taking half a second off Adam Kszczot&rsquo;s Polish indoor record and moving to sixth on the world all-time list. In third, Mark English once again revised the Irish record with 1:44.23, finishing ahead of European indoor champion Samuel Chapple (1:44.75).
In what proved to be the fastest indoor race in history, best marks-for-place were set in second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth.
What the men&rsquo;s 400m lacked in drama, it made up for with speed. Molnar, the European indoor champion, led through half way in 21.45. Jonas Phijffers of the Netherlands put up a strong challenge throughout, but Molnar judged his effort to perfection and crossed the line in 45.01, breaking the European short track record that had been shared by East Germany&rsquo;s Thomas Schonlebe and Norway&rsquo;s Karsten Warholm (45.05), and taking 0.07 off his own meeting record.
Phijffers was rewarded with a PB of 45.48 in second place, equalling the Dutch short track record.
<h2>Polish double in hurdles, Ethiopian double in women&rsquo;s middle distance</h2>
Poland dominated the 60m hurdles, producing meeting records in both contests.
In the women&rsquo;s event, Pia Skrzyszowska set the tone early by storming to a world lead and meeting record of 7.78 in the heats. She came close to matching that mark in the final, taking victory in 7.80 ahead of USA&rsquo;s Alaysha Johnson, who clocked 7.88.
Half an hour earlier, compatriot Jakub Szymański delivered another standout performance in the men&rsquo;s race. After trailing slightly out of the blocks behind Eric Edwards, Szymański powered through the closing stages to win in 7.48, breaking the long-standing meeting record set by Dayron Robles back in 2014. Edwards held on for second in a PB of 7.53.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Birke Haylom produced one of the performances of the night in the 1500m, holding off compatriot Saron Berhe to win in a world-leading and meeting record 4:00.62. Berhe followed closely in 4:01.23 which, pending ratification, would be an improvement on the official world U20 short track record of 4:01.57.
The women&rsquo;s 800m also went to Ethiopia as world indoor silver medallist Nigist Getachew led from the gun and never relinquished control, winning in 1:59.98 ahead of Slovakia&rsquo;s Gabriela Gajanov&aacute; (2:00.45).
Getachew&rsquo;s time was an improvement on the meeting record that had been set in the &lsquo;B&rsquo; race earlier in the programme. Sixteen-year-old Slovenian Živa Remic won that race in 2:00.73, setting a European U18 short track best and moving to second on the world U18 all-time list.
World 1500m champion Isaac Nader, contesting his first indoor 3000m in four years, claimed his third successive Ostrava victory after previous wins over 1500m and the mile. He bided his time behind the pacemakers during the first half, then took command in the closing stages, holding off a late surge from South Africa&rsquo;s Tshepo Tshite.
Nader won in a meeting record of 7:38.05, breaking a Portuguese short track record that had stood since 2000. Tshite, racing over 3000m for the first time, was also rewarded with a national record in second place (7:38.17).
In the men&rsquo;s long jump &ndash; possibly the most competitive event of the day &ndash; world champion Mattia Furlani soared to a meeting record of 8.30m. Bulgaria&rsquo;s Bozhidar Saraboyukov took an early lead with 8.21m in round three, which was matched by Furlani in that same round. Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou then took the lead in round four with 8.23m, but Furlani produced the winning leap in round five.
Jordan Geist was another athlete to produce a world-leading meeting record. The US athlete dominated the men&rsquo;s shot put, winning with 22.04m.
On the track, Lieke Klaver continued her affinity with Ostrava by winning the women&rsquo;s 400m in a world-leading 51.00. Home talent Lurdes Gloria Manuel, racing for the first time since May last year, clocked a PB of 51.12 in second, while Slovakia&rsquo;s hurdles specialist Emma Zapletov&aacute; set a national record of 51.24 in third.
Elsewhere in the sprints, European indoor champion Zaynab Dosso took the women&rsquo;s 60m in 7.09 ahead of Patrizia van der Weken (7.14). World 200m silver medallist Amy Hunt and Czech record-holder Karol&iacute;na Maňasov&aacute; were tied for third in 7.17.
Slovenia&rsquo;s Tina &Scaron;utej was another repeat winner from last year. The world bronze medallist won the women&rsquo;s pole vault with 4.70m.

Belgium's Eliot Crestan and Hungary's Attila Molnar returned to the Czech Indoor Gala to revise their own meeting records

History repeats as Crestan and Molnar headline record spree in Ostrava

Mohamed Attaoui is expected to provide one of the highlights for the home crowd at the World Indoor Tour Gold Madrid 2026 &ndash; the fourth Gold meeting on this season&rsquo;s tour &ndash; on Friday (6).
The European silver medallist from Spain will attack the men&rsquo;s world short track 1000m record of 2:14.20, which has belonged to Djibouti&rsquo;s Ayanleh Souleiman since 2016.
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/watch/live" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/698462ff3a4ffdb8a73d0858.jpg" alt="Madrid WIT 2026 where to watch" /></a>
The 1000m may be a rarely contested distance, but Attaoui &ndash; one of the fastest 800m runners in history with proven form over 1500m &ndash; is well suited to it. His outdoor PB of 2:12.25, set in Trier last year, ranks him third on the world all-time list, just 0.31 shy of Noah Ngeny&rsquo;s world record.
Attaoui, who finished runner-up over 800m at the Millrose Games last Sunday in 1:44.98, will likely need to pass 800m in about 1:47 to stay on record pace in Madrid. The 24-year-old, who finished fifth at last year&rsquo;s World Championships and at the 2024 Olympics, will be paced by in-form Pole Filip Ostrowski and will have fellow Spaniards Mariano Garc&iacute;a and Adri&aacute;n Ben for company. Garc&iacute;a is the 2022 world indoor champion, while Ben is the 2023 European indoor champion.
The women&rsquo;s middle distances are of a similarly high quality. Switzerland&rsquo;s Audrey Werro, who finished fourth at the World Indoors and sixth at the World Championships last year, is the fastest entrant in the 800m.
The 21-year-old, who set an outdoor PB of 1:55.91 to win the Diamond League Final last year, has started her 2026 campaign in impressive form, clocking a short track PB of 1:57.49 last weekend to move into the top 10 on the world short track all-time list.
Poland&rsquo;s Anna Wielgosz and Slovenia&rsquo;s Anita Horvat, the gold and bronze medallists respectively at last year&rsquo;s European Indoor Championships, will also be in contention, as will 2024 world indoor bronze medallist Noelie Yarigo of Benin and 2024 Olympic fourth-place finisher Shafiqua Maloney of St Vincent &amp; the Grenadines.
The women&rsquo;s 1500m line-up, meanwhile, includes Ethiopia&rsquo;s Birke Haylom, a 3:53.22 performer outdoors, Italy&rsquo;s world and Olympic 10,000m medallist Nadia Battocletti and Spain&rsquo;s European 5000m bronze medallist Marta Garc&iacute;a.
<h2>Global medallists in action in the sprints and throws</h2>
Olympic bronze medallist Rajindra Campbell will be the athlete to beat in the men&rsquo;s shot put. The 29-year-old has good memories of Madrid, having set his indoor lifetime best of 22.16m here two years ago. The Jamaican, who opened his season last Sunday in New York with a world-leading 21.77m, will clash with Mexico&rsquo;s surprise world silver medallist Uziel Mu&ntilde;oz and USA&rsquo;s Jordan Geist.
World indoor 400m silver medallist Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands makes her seasonal debut. The 27-year-old multiple global relay medallist, who owns a 50.10 short track PB, will face Spain&rsquo;s European indoor bronze medallist Paula Sevilla, who recently set a 200m PB of 23.11. Blanca Herv&aacute;s, who teamed up with Sevilla to win the 4x400m at the World Relays last year, should also be in contention on Friday, having recently set a national 300m record of 36.53 on the same track.
The men&rsquo;s 60m hurdles looks set to be highly competitive. Spain&rsquo;s world and Olympic fourth-place finisher Enrique Llopis will take on Belgium&rsquo;s Elia Bacari. The duo clashed two weeks ago in Luxembourg, with both men running 7.50 and Bacari being given the verdict on a photofinish.
World indoor silver medallist Wilhem Belocian, European champion Lorenzo Simonelli and USA&rsquo;s Jamal Britt add further quality to the field.
In other events, Oman&rsquo;s Ali Al Balushi leads the men&rsquo;s 60m field with a season&rsquo;s best of 6.52, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Getnet Wale takes on Uruguay&rsquo;s in-form Valent&iacute;n Soca in the men&rsquo;s 3000m, and Portugal&rsquo;s European bronze medallist Agate de Sousa will be among the favourites in the women&rsquo;s long jump after leaping 6.84m this season.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
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Mohamed Attaoui is expected to provide one of the highlights for the home crowd at the World Indoor Tour Gold Madrid 2026

Attaoui and Werro target fast times in Madrid

After winning two gold medals in 2016 and 2021, Kenyan marathon great Eliud Kipchoge will return to the Olympics, this time as a flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
The 41-year-old is one of the eight bearers who will carry the Olympic Flag into the San Siro Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony on 6 February. The flag bearers were selected by the International Olympic Committee and Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026: athletes, as well as individuals whose personal and professional journeys embody the principles of peace, unity and solidarity that inspire the Olympic Movement.
Kipchoge is a five-time Olympian who won his two Olympic marathon titles in Rio in 2016 and Sapporo in 2021.
He made his Olympic debut in Athens in 2004, when he claimed 5000m bronze, and he followed that with 5000m silver in Beijing in 2008. After winning his two Olympic marathon titles, he returned to the roads at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
As well as his many major marathon wins, Kipchoge has twice improved the world marathon record &ndash; to 2:01:39 in Berlin in 2018 and to 2:01:09 in the same city four years later.
In addition to his accomplishments in athletics, he is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Sport, Integrity and Values, and he <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletics-better-world/news/eliud-kipchoge-u20-refugee-team-mentor-pledge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">became a mentor to the U20 World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team in 2023</a>.

After winning two gold medals in 2016 and 2021, Kenyan marathon great Eliud Kipchoge will return to the Olympics, this time as a flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

Official WIC Kujawy Pomorze 26 medals unveiled, Orlen becomes event supporter

Liu leads Chinese gold rush at Asian Indoor Championships

Hunter Bell clocks world-leading 1500m in Karlsruhe as Mahuchikh clears 2.01m

Field stars and sprint showdowns set for Belgrade Indoor Meeting

Furlani and Saraboyukov leap 8.39m in Metz, while Schrub and Bol impress on the track