• World 1500m champion Isaac Nader aims to add indoor crown
• Strong US duo have the speed and racing craft to continue medal tradition
• Tactical intrigue awaits with little between the leading entrants

It’s 25 years since Portugal won the men’s 1500m title at the World Athletics Indoor Championships – Rui Silva sprinting to glory in Lisbon in 2001 – but they look to have a huge chance of regaining it this year via Isaac Nader. 

The 26-year-old finished fourth in the past two world indoor 1500m finals, but it will be a surprise if he falls short of a medal this year. In Tokyo last September, he ascended to a new level, sprinting to the world 1500m title with a blazing 12.29-second last 100m. 

While he parted ways with his coach Enrique Pascual Oliva late last year, Nader has looked as strong as ever in 2026, setting national indoor records at 800m (1:45.05), 1500m (3:32.44) and 3000m (7:38.05). He was hugely impressive when winning over 1500m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Liévin last month and given his experience, he should prove tough to beat in Kujawy Pomorze. 

However, recent history has shown just how difficult it is to stay atop the pedestal in the men’s 1500m, and Nader faces nine men who have run below 3:34 this season. The quickest of them is Dutch athlete Sam Chapple, whose 800m background will make him dangerous in this race. Chapple is the European indoor 800m champion and he finished fourth in the world indoor 800m final last year, but has put more emphasis on the 1500m this year, setting a Dutch indoor record of 3:32.68 last month on the same Toruń track that he will race on this weekend.

USA has won three men’s 1500m medals across the last two editions of the championships and they will expect to add to that tally given the calibre of their duo, Nathan Green and Luke Houser. They were previously teammates at the University of Washington, with Houser winning two NCAA indoor mile titles before taking 1500m bronze at the World Indoor Championships last year, while Green won two NCAA outdoor 1500m titles and unleashed an impressive kick to win the US indoor 1500m title in New York in early March. 

Italy’s Federico Riva finished seventh in the world 1500m final in Tokyo last year and he’s also been in excellent form this year, setting a national indoor record of 3:33.04 behind Nader in Liévin. 

Belgium’s Pieter Sisk ran a national indoor mile record of 3:50.31 in Boston in January and his 800m best of 1:43.48 makes him a dangerous in a championship 1500m, while Sweden’s Samuel Pihlstrom finished fifth in last year’s world indoor 1500m final and he set a national indoor record of 3:33.47 in Toruń last month. 

Germany’s Robert Farken was sixth in the world 1500m final in Tokyo last year and he should be in contention again here, while Spain’s Mariano Garcia – the world indoor 800m champion in 2022 – will be especially dangerous in a slow race. 

In a contest with little between the leading entrants based on recent form, the medals will likely be won by whoever is in the right position as they hear the bell. Expect a physical battle to unfold in the closing laps as a horde of athletes try to get there. 

Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

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