In spite of the ongoing pandemic, a busy and exciting weekend of athletics is due to unfold across Europe with reigning world and European champions in action on the path to the Toruń 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships from 4-7 March.
The weekend includes World Athletics Indoor Tour events in Karlsruhe and Düsseldorf as well as another exciting pole vault competition in Tourcoing, plus standout domestic action across the continent.
Here are some of the expected highlights over the next three days.
Season’s debut for Duplantis in Dusseldorf
World Athlete of the Year Armand Duplantis will open his indoor season on Sunday (31) at the inaugural edition of the ISTAF Indoor in Dusseldorf.
Duplantis launched his impeccable 2020 campaign in Dusseldorf with a 6.00m clearance before giving immediate notice of his world record-breaking capabilities with three close attempts at 6.17m, a height he would conquer in his next competition in Torun.
A different venue awaits Duplantis on Sunday with the ISTAF Indoor taking place at the ISS-Dome. In a rematch of the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Duplantis faces Sam Kendricks, the last vaulter to defeat Duplantis, and perennial world and European medallist Piotr Lisek from Poland.
Mihambo and Spanovic go head-to-head in Dusseldorf
The women’s long jump will be another focal point at the ISTAF Indoor in Dusseldorf on Sunday as Germany’s Malaika Mihambo and Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic are due to extend their rivalry.
Between them, Mihambo and Spanovic have won every major European indoor and outdoor accolade since 2015 and both of them also have global honours to their credit. Mihambo is the reigning world outdoor champion while Spanovic finally landed her first global title at the World Indoor Championships in 2018.
In terms of current form, Spanovic hasn’t competed since early June due to injury. Mihambo has already competed this year, jumping 6.52m earlier this month in Frankfurt albeit off an abbreviated run-up.
Asher-Smith to lace up spikes in Karlsruhe and Dusseldorf
Dina Asher-Smith seldom competes indoors but the reigning world and European 200m champion will be embarking on a busy weekend of racing after a low-key outdoor season.
In her first indoor campaign in three years, Asher-Smith will be making her season’s debut in the 60m at the Indoor Meeting in Karlsruhe on Friday evening, two days before competing in the short sprint at the ISTAF Indoor in Dusseldorf.
In both competitions, Asher-Smith will face the vastly improving Swiss sprinter Ajla Del Ponte who won 14 of her 16 100m races last summer.
Stefanidi and Lavillenie command the spotlight in Tourcoing
Ekaterini Stefanidi’s road to her title defence at the Olympic Games in Tokyo begins in Tourcoing where she faces Greek teammate Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou and European indoor and outdoor medallist Holly Bradshaw at the Perche En Or on Sunday.
The men’s line-up is headed by a rejuvenated Renaud Lavillenie who cleared an auspicious 5.92m in Bordeaux earlier this month to match his best ever season’s opener.
A strong US contingent awaits the Frenchman in Tourcoing, including Chris Nilsen, Jacob Wooten and Matt Ludwig. Reigning European indoor champion Pawel Wojciechowski from Poland and British record-holder Harry Coppell are also due to compete.
Tamberi to open his campaign in Ancona
The charismatic Gianmarco Tamberi will begin his indoor season with a domestic outing in Ancona on Saturday (30), three days before he faces a typically high calibre line-up in the famous high jump meeting in Banska Bystrica.
Tamberi made a long-awaited and highly popular return to the podium at the 2019 European Indoor Championships in Glasgow and the Italian is planning to defend his title in Torun from 4-7 March.
Bol and Klaver bound for Vienna
Femke Bol and Lieke Klaver were two of the breakthrough performers of the 2020 summer campaign in the 400m hurdles and 400m flat respectively and the emerging Dutch duo will gauge their early season form in Vienna on Saturday (30).
The training partners have entered both the 200m and 400m in the Austrian capital. For posterity the world leads currently stand at 22.90 and 51.76 respectively.
Sprunger to begin farewell season in Magglingen
Reigning European 400m hurdles champion Lea Sprunger has confirmed this will be her last season and she will be dearly hoping to upgrade her fourth-place finish from the 2019 World Championships in Doha at the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.
Sprunger will compete for the first time this season at home in Magglingen this weekend where she has entered the 60m, 200m and 400m.