Today (6) marks six months to go to the Apeldoorn 2025 European Athletics indoor Championships and the Omnisport Apeldoorn has undergone a huge metamorphosis with a completely renovated track.
This upgrade of the track, which was carried out in close cooperation with events and exhibitions company Libéma and the municipality of Apeldoorn, meets the highest international standards and offers a perfect surface for the performances of Europe's top athletes who will compete for medals from 6-9 March 2025.
Event director Dafne Schippers, who retired from athletics last year and still holds the European 200m record with 21.63, is very enthusiastic about the work which has been carried out on the venue ahead of next year’s European Athletics Indoor Championships.
"It is great to see that the Omnisport Apeldoorn is completely ready for the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships. The new track offers athletes the opportunity to get the most out of themselves," said Schippers, who won 60m gold at the 2015 European Indoor Championships among many other accolades.
The upcoming European Athletics Indoor Championships was an important reason to renew the track and adapt it to the latest athletics regulations.
However, instead of a complete track renovation, the organisers have chosen for a ‘re-topping’: a new top layer over the existing track. Another notable change in the layout is the merging of the runways for both the triple jump and long jump which has created extra space for the pole vault.
The renovated track not only looks great aesthetically but also fully complies with international requirements. The lines and colours also fit seamlessly with the corporate identity and the branding colours of the European Athletics Indoor Championships, enhancing the unique appearance of the stadium.
Whether the track is actually faster will only become clear during the championships itself but expectations for records to be broken are high as the European Athletics Indoor Championships returns to Dutch soil for the first time since 1989.
At the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul, the Netherlands finished an excellent second on the medal table behind Norway with three gold medals and seven medals in total.
Femke Bol and Lieke Klaver made it a Dutch one-two in the women’s 400m before joining forces to win gold for the second time in the 4x400m relay while Douwe Amels contributed another gold medal with his victory in the men’s high jump.
Tickets for the evening sessions at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships have already sold out but there are still a limited number of tickets on sale for the morning sessions which can be bought here.
Organisers for European Athletics