Men's Event by Event Preview for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 2024
Prepare for an electrifying spectacle at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow from March 1-3, where track aficionados can anticipate Noah Lyles to steal the spotlight in the track events, while field event enthusiasts will be treated to the unparalleled prowess of Armand Duplantis.
Stay tuned as we delve into a comprehensive men's event preview, providing a sneak peek into each competition and highlighting the athletes who are poised to leave an indelible mark on this prestigious indoor championship.
60 metres:
Noah Lyles is aiming to win his first world indoor gold medal on his debut at the World Indoor Championships. Lyles won his first World Indoor Tour Gold race of the season in Boston in 6.44 edging Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake by 0.01. In that race Lyles broke Maurice Greene’s 25-year-old meeting record.
Lyles followed his win in Boston with a US title in a world leading time of 6.43 in Albuquerque, where he edged Christian Coleman by 0.01.
At last summer’s World outdoor Championships in Budapest Lyles became the first sprinter to win both the 100 and 200 metres in the same edition of this event since Usain Bolt in Beijing 2015.
Lyles won the 100m world title improving his PB to 9.83. A few days later he completed the double by winning his third consecutive world gold medal in the 200 metres in 19.52. Lyles surpassed the achievement of two consecutive 200 metres world titles he had shared with Michael Johnson and Calvin Smith and is now one win away from equalling the record of four world titles Usain Bolt set between 2009 and 2015. Lyles improved Michael Johnson’s US record by 0.01 with 19.31 when he won the world gold medal in Eugene 2022.
Christian Coleman won at the Millrose Games in 6.51 and placed second at the US Indoor Championships in a seasonal best of 6.44 in Albuquerque. Coleman is aiming to win his third medal at the World Indoor Championships following gold in Birmingham 2018 in a championship record of 6.37 and silver in Belgrade in 6.41 behind Marcell Jacobs. Coleman set the 60m world indoor record with 6.34 at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque in 2018. Coleman beat Lyles in last September’s Diamond League Final in Eugene equalling the world seasonal lead with 9.83.
Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake finished second behind Lyles in 6.45 in Boston and third in 6.55 in New York in the first indoor season of his career. Blake improved his 100m PB to 9.89 in Los Angeles last May and won the world bronze medal in the 4x100 relay with 37.78 in Budapest.
Ferdinand Omanyala won the 60 metres in a seasonal best of 6.51 in Paris Bercy and won in Miramas in 6.52. The Kenyan sprinter set the African 100m record with 9.77 in Nairobi in 2021 and won the Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham 2022. He finished seventh in the 100m final at the World Championships in Budapest and third behind Coleman and Lyles at last year’s Diamond League Final in Eugene in 9.85.
400 metres:
Karsten Warholm will return to the Emirates Arena where he won the European Indoor gold medal in 2019 equalling Thomas Schoenlebe’s European Indoor record with 45.05. Warholm, who will turn 28 two days before the start of the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, will run his first 400 metres indoor race this winter. He has not competed since last September, when he finished second to Raj Benjamin in the 400 metres hurdles at the Wanda Diamond League final in Eugene.
Last year Warhom won the European Indoor title in the 400 metres in 45.35 beating Julien Watrin by 0.09.
Defending champion Jereem Richards from Trinidad and Tobago has not competed in any races yet this winter. Richards won the world indoor title in Belgrade in 45.00. He always performed well in Great Britain winning the bronze medal in the 200m and the gold medal in the 4x400 relay at the World Championships in London 2017 and the gold medal in the 200 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The enty list is led by Brian Faust, who recently came from 0.58 down at halfway to edge Jacory Patterson for the US indoor title in Albuquerque in 45.47 after surging from third to first in the home straight. The graduate at the Purdue University in West Lafayette is undefeated in his five indoor races in 2024. He set an outdoor PB of 45.41 at last year’s US Championships in Eugene.
Patterson finished second at the US Indoor Championships in 45.48. He set PBs of 45.05 indoors in Fayetteville in 2023 and 44.81 outdoors in Gainesville in 2021.
The other top European athletes are Matej Krsek from Czech Republic, who won the bronze medal in the mixed 4x400 relay at the World Championships in Budapest 2023, and Alexander Doom from Belgium, who clocked 45.89 in Metz this year and won the world indoor gold medal in the 4x400 relay in Belgrade.
800 metres:
Italy’s Catalin Tecuceanu set the fastest time in the world this year by clocking 1:45.00 at the World Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Madrid. The Romanian-born athlete took almost half a second off the Italian indoor record held by Giuseppe D’Urso, who clocked 1:45.44 in 1993. Tecuceanu won the World Indoor Tour ranking in his discipline.
Spain’s Mariano Garcia will defend his world title in the men’s 800 metres two years after his triumph in Belgrade 2022. The 26-year-old Spaniard went on to win the European outdoor gold medal in Munich later that year. He finished second at the World Indoor Tour meeting in Liévin in 1:45.50 behind 2023 European indoor bronze medallist Elliott Crestan, who set the second fastest time in the world this year with 1:45.10.
Another solid medal prospect for the Spanish team is Mohamed Attaoui, who improved his PB to 1:45.49 in Lyon and finished second to Tecuceanu in Madrid.
US 800 metres specialist Bryce Hoppel will be aiming to reach the podium again at these championships after winning the bronze medal in Belgrade. The 2019 NCAA champion won the 800 metres at the Millrose Games in New York in 1:45.54.
Noah Kibet will also fight for a spot on the podium after winning the world silver medal in Belgrade. Kibet finished second to Hoppel at the Millrose Games in New York in 1:46.09.
Benjamin Robert from France won the European Indoor silver medal in Istanbul in 2023 and could fight for the podium this year. Robert finished third in Liévin in 1:45.70 and won his fourth national indoor title in Miramas.
Tshepiso Maselela from Botswana has remained undefeated in three World Indoor Tour races in Ostrava, Metz and Torun. The African athlete set a national record of 1:45.56 in Metz.
The other athletes to watch are Morocco’s Abdelati El Guesse, who won in Lyon in 1:45.28, Algeria’s Mouamed Ali Guaned, who won the B race in Liévin in 1.45.35, Poland’s Mateusz Borkowski, European indoor silver in Torun 2021 and 2018 European outdoor silver medallist Andreas Kramer from Sweden.
1500 metres:
Former world indoor record holder Samuel Tefera from Ethiopia will chase his third world indoor title after winning in Birmingham 2018 and Belgrade 2022. Tefera won two World Indoor Tour Gold races this year in the 1500m in Torun in 3:34.61 and in the 3000m in Astana in 7:33.80.
The battle for the podium is wide open. Twenty-year-old US middle distance runner Hobbs Kessler won the mile race at the World Road Running Championships in Riga in 3:56.13. This indoor season Kessler won the 1500m in Boston in 3:33.66 and finished second behind Yared Nuguse in the Wanamaker Mile in New York in 3:48.66 and in the 1500 metres at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque in 3:38.76.
Azzedine Habz from France is a solid medal contender after winning the 1500 metres in Liévin in a French record of 3:34.39. The 2023 European indoor bronze medallist also won the French indoor title in Miramas in 3:38.07.
The other top contenders are 21-year-old Kenyan middle distance runner Vincent Keter, world under 20 champion in Nairobi 2021, 17-year-old Biniam Mehary from Ethiopia, who set the world under 20 record with 3:34.83 in Torun, Adam Fogg from Great Britain, who clocked 3:49.67 in the mile in New York, Adel Mechal from Spain, European Indoor gold medallist in the 1500m in Belgrade 2017 and fifth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021, and Tshepo Tshite, who improved his PB to 3:35.06 this year in Torun.
3000 metres:
World 1500 metres outdoor champion Josh Kerr from Great Britain will run the 3000 metres in front of his home fans. Kerr recently broke the world indoor record in the 2 miles clocking 8:00.67. The Scottish athlete won the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo in the 1500 metres setting a PB of 3:29.05 and the world gold medal in Budapest 2023 in 3:29.38.
Selemon Barega from Ethiopia is chasing his third world indoor medal in the 3000 metres after finishing second in Birmingham 2018 and first in Belgrade 2022. Barega showed his good form this winter by winning two 3000 metres races in the World Indoor Tour Gold in Torun in 7:25.82 and in Liévin in 7:31.38.
Getnet Wale from Ethiopia, fourth in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and in two editions of the World Championships in Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022, performed well on the World Indoor Tour by finishing second in Astana in 7:34.36 and Torun in 7:26.73 and third in Liévin in 7:35.04.
Yared Nuguse will aim at winning his first global medal after finishing fifth in the 1500 metres at the World Championships in Budapest in 3:30.25. Nuguse won the Wanamaker Mile in 3:47.83 at the Millrose Games in New York and the 3000m at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque this year.
Pietro Arese broke the long standing Italian indoor 3000 metres record held by Gennaro Di Napoli by clocking 7:38.42 in Metz. Arese finished fourth at the European Championships in the 1500 metres in Munich 2022 and fifth at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul 2023. The Italian athlete improved his PB in the 1500m outdoors to 3:33.11 in the semifinal of the World Championships in Budapest and indoors with 3.37.03 in Padua.
60 metres hurdles:
Grant Holloway is chasing his second world indoor gold medal in the men’s 60 metres hurdles. Two years ago Holloway equalled his world indoor record with 7.29 in the semifinal of the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade before winning the final in 7.39. The US hurdler improved his own world record by two hundredths of a second to 7.27 in the heats of this year’s US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque. He did not run the final as he is already qualified for the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow thanks to a wild-card as World Indoor Tour winner.
During the 2024 indoor season the three-time 110 metres hurdles world outdoor champion and Olympic silver medallist also won two World indoor Tour Gold races in Boston in 7.35 and Liévin in 7.32.
Trey Cunningham returned to his best shape this winter. The 2021 NCAA indoor and outdoor champion finished second in Boston in 7.49, third in New York in 7.52 and won the US indoor title in Albuquerque in 7.39. Cunningham won the world outdoor silver medal in Eugene in 13.08 behind Holloway.
Cameron Murray finished second at the US Indoor Championships in 7.45 in Albuquerque.
Just Kwaou Mathey from France, who won the European Championships in Munich 2022 in the 110 metres hurdles, finished second in Liévin behind Holloway setting the fastest time in Europe this year with 7.43 and took second place at the French indoor championships in 7.45.
Wilhelm Belocian won the French indoor title in 7.44 in Miramas. The French hurdler claimed the European indoor gold medal in Torun 2021 in 7.42.
Jason Joseph from Switzerland won the European indoor gold medal in Istanbul in a national record of 7.41. The Swiss hurdles came within 0.02 of his PB by clocking 7.43 at the National Indoor Championships in St. Gallen.
European under 23 silver medallist Lorenzo Simonelli improved the Italian indoor record three times clocking 7.50 in Lodz, 7.48 at the Italian Championships in Ancona and 7.46 at the World Indoor Tour in Madrid.
Jakub Szymanski set the Polish indoor record clocking 7.47 in Dusseldorf and performed well on the World Indoor Tour by clocking 7.48 twice in Torun and Liévin.
Spanish hurdlers Asler Martinez and Enrique Llopis have also solid hopes of qualifying for the final. Martinez, European outdoor champion in Munich 2022, improved his PB to 7.49 in Val de Reuil and finished second at the World Indoor in Madrid in 7.50. Llopis placed second at the Spanish Indoor Championships in Ourense and third in Madrid in a seasonal best of 7.51.
Pole vault:
Armand Duplantis will chase his second world indoor title two years after his triumph in Belgrade 2022, when he broke his own world record by clearing 6.20m. Duplantis went on to win two world outdoor gold medals in Eugene 2022 with 6.21m and in Budapest 2023 with 6.10m. The Swede won his third Wanda Diamond League in Eugene 2023 improving his world record to 6.23. Duplantis won three competitions this indoor season in Astana with 5.80m, at the Mondo Classic in Uppsala with 5.92m and at the All Star Perche in Clermont Ferrand with a world seasonal lead of 6.02m.
Christopher Nilsen won the US Indoor title in Albuquerque with his seasonal best of 6.00m. Nilsen claimed the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo 2021 with 5.97m, the world silver medal in Eugene 2022 with 5.94m, the world bronze medal in Budapest 2023 with 5.95m and the world indoor bronze in Belgrade 2022 with 5.90m.
Two-time world outdoor champion Sam Kendricks returned to his best shape by placing second at the US Championships in Albuquerque and third in Clermont Ferrand with 5.92m. Kendricks won two silver medals in his previous two appearances at the World Indoor Championships in Portland 2016 and Birmingham 2018.
Ernest John Obiena from the Philippines improved his own Asian indoor record to 5.93m at the ISTAF Indoor meeting in Berlin last Friday and won in Osjek (Croatia) with 5.81m in his first two competitions this year. Obiena won bronze in Eugene 2022 and silver in Budapest 2023 in the past two editions of the World outdoor Championships.
Thibaut Collet from France finished fifth at the World outdoor Championships with 5.90m and improved his PB to 5.92 in Clermont Ferrand this indoor season.
Double Commonwealth Games champion Kurtis Marshall from Australia won the world bronze medal in Budapest equalling his PB to 5.95m in 2023. Marshall cleared 5.87m in Roubaix and 5.82 in Clermont Ferrand in his most recent competitions.
High jump:
Sanghyeok Woo from South Korea is aiming to win his second world indoor gold medal two years after his triumph in Belgrade 2022 with 2.34m. Woo also claimed the world outdoor silver medal in Eugene 2022 with 2.35m, finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 with 2.35m and won the 2023 Diamond League final in Eugene with 2.35m. The Asian jumper won in Banska Bystrika with 2.32m and in Nehvizhdy with 2.30m and finished second in Hustopece with 2.33m this year.
Shelby McEwen cleared a seasonal best of 2.33m in Hustopece and won the US Indoor title with 2.28m. The US jumper placed fifth at the World Championships in Eugene 2023.
Jan Stefela from Czech Republic won the European Under 23 gold medal in Tallin 2021. The 22-year-old Czech jumper improved his PB to 2.30m in Trinec this year.
Hamish Kerr from New Zealand is chasing his second world indoor medal two years after sharing the bronze medal with Gianmarco Tamberi in Belgrade 2022. Kerr cleared 2.27m outdoors in Whanganui last January.
Long jump:
Olympic, world and European champion Miltiadis Tentoglou will defend his world indoor title in the men’s long jump two years after winning the gold medal in Belgrade with 8.55m ahead of Thobias Montler from Sweden. Tentoglou is still unbeaten this year in his three competitions in Ostrava with 8.09m, Paris Bercy with 8.06m and at the Greek Indoor Championships in Pireus with 8.26m. Last year Tentoglou won his first world outdoor gold medal in Budapest with 8.52m.
European under 20 champion Mattia Furlani from Italy started his indoor season with a European under 20 record of 8.08 in Stockolm. Furlani won the Italian indoor title with a world seasonal lead of 8.34m at the Italian Indoor Championships in Ancona improving Andrew Howe’s national indoor record and the world under 20 indoor record.
The strong Jamaican team will be formed by Tayaj Gayle and Carey McLeod. Gayle won the world outdoor title in Doha 2019 with a national record of 8.69m and the world bronze medal in Budapest 2023. McLeod placed fourth in the World Championships final in Budapest and won the 2023 NCAA indoor and outdoor titles.
Triple jump:
Fabrice Hughes Zango from Burkina Faso will aim to win his first world indoor medal after completing a full set of world outdoor medals (bronze in Doha 2019, silver in Eugene 2022 and gold in Budapest 2023) and winning the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo 2021. Zango is unbeaten in his two indoor competitions this year in Val de Reuil with 17.15m and Liévin with 17.21m.
Olympic and world finalist Yasser Triki from Algeria also performed well this season finishing second in Liévin with 17.18m and third in in Torun with 16.93m and Madrid with 16.66m.
Max Hess from Germany is a solid performer in indoor competitions and could be a major contender for a medal. Hess won four European Indoor medals in Belgrade 2017, Glasgow 2019, Torun 2021 and Istanbul 2023 and the world indoor silver medal in Portland 2016. This year he won the German indoor title in Leipzig with 17.03m and finished second in Madrid with 16.96m.
Emmanuel Ihemeje finished second at the Italian Indoor Championships in Ancona with a seasonal best of 17.03m and finished fourth in Liévin with 16.93m. Ihemeje, who won NCAA Indoor and outdoor titles in 2021, reached two world outdoor finals finishing fifth in Eugene 2022 with 17.17m and eighth in Budapest 2023 with 16.93m.
Shot put:
Olympic and world outdoor shot put champion Ryan Crouser is aiming to win his first world indoor gold medal, the only title missing in his impressive collection.
Crouser won two Olympic gold medals in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2021 with 23.30m and two world outdoor gold medals in Eugene 2022 with 22.94m and Budapest 2023 with 23.51n. In the Hungarian capital Crouser narrowly missed his world outdoor record by just five cm. The US shot putter won the national indoor title with the world lead of 22.80m in his only indoor competition of the season.
The US team is also represented by 2022 NACAC champion Roger Steen, who won the World Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Ostrava with 21.38m and finished second at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque with 21.47m.
Leonardo Fabbri won the world outdoor silver medal in Budapest with his outdoor PB of 22.34m and finished fourth at the Diamond League Final in Eugene with 22.31m. Fabbri set the Italian indoor record with 22.37m at the World Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Liévin becoming the second best European indoor shot putter in history behind Ulf Timmermann, who threw 22.55m in 1988.
Zane Weir, training partner of Fabbri under the guidance of Paolo Dal Soglio, won the European Indoor gold medal in Istanbul 2023 with the previous Italian record of 22.06m. Weir set the best European outdoor performance since 1988 with 22.44m in Padua last September. Weir set the fifth best performance in the world this year with 21.84m in Nordhausen.
Tom Walsh from New Zealand won two world indoor gold medals in Portland 2016 and Birmingham 2018, the world outdoor title in London 2017 and two Olympic bronze medals in 2016 and 2021. Walsh claimed the World Indoor Tour in his discipline and threw over the 22 metres barrier with 22.16m in Liévin and 22.03m in Madrid.
Rajindra Campbell from Jamaica won the World Indoor Tour Gold in Madrid competition with a national indoor with 22.16m. Campbell also set his outdoor PB with 22.22m at the Continental Tour Silver meeting in the Spanish capital last July.
The other top contenders are Chukwubueka Enekwechi from Nigeria, who finished fourth with 21.54m in Madrid, Tomas Stanek, European Indoor champion in Torun 2021 and 2022 European outdoor medallist in Munich, and Bob Bertemes from Luxembourg, who set his seasonal best of 21.71m and holds an outdoor PB of 22.22m.
Heptathlon:
Sander Skotheim from Norway won the European Indoor silver medal in Istanbul 2023 in the heptathlon with a national indoor record of 6318 points. During last outdoor season the Norwegian athlete finished third in the decathlon in Goetzis with 8590 and won the European under 23 silver medal with 8561 in Espoo. This indoor season he won the indoor heptathlon competition in Tallin with 6281 points.
Skotheim’s compatriot Markus Rooth won the European under 23 gold medal in Espoo 2023 with 8608 points and finished eighth at the World Championships in Budapest with 8491 points.
Simon Ehammer from Switzerland will chase his second world indoor medal in the heptathlon two years after finishing second in Belgrade 2022 with a national record of 6361 points. Later that year Ehammer won the world outdoor bronze medal in the long jump with 8.16m in Eugene and the European silver medal in the decathlon with a national record of 8468 points. The Swiss athlete won the long jump in the Diamond League final in Eugene 2023 with 8.22m. This indoor season he won the heptathlon competition with 6242 points in Aubière.
Mackenson Gletty from France made his breakthrough last September when he won the Decastar meeting in Talence with his PB of 8443 points in the decathlon. Gletty finished second to Ehammer in Aubière with his indoor PB of 6230 points.
Ken Mullings from Bahamas set the world leading mark of 6340 points in Champaign last January.
Another athlete to watch is Ondrej Kopechky from Czech Republic, who finished third in the heptathlon with 6018 in Aubiére and improved his PB to 6035 in Prague.
4x400 relay:
Four athletes, who have broken the 46 seconds barrier this year, will form a strong US men’s 4x400 relay. Brian Faust and Jacory Petterson, who finished first and second at this year’s US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque in 45.47 and 45.48, will lead the US team, that also features Matthew Boling, Trevor Bassitt, Christopher Bailey, Paul Dedewo and Wil London.
USA won 10 of the 13 gold medals in the men’s 4x400 at the World Indoor Championships between 1993 and 2016, but they were beaten by Poland, who set a world indoor record in Birmingham 2018 with 3:01.77. The US team did not reach the final in Belgrade 2022 because of an injury in the heats. The US team has the potential to break the world record.
Belgium won the world indoor title in Belgrade 2022 and the European Indoor gold in Istanbul 2023 and could fight for a medal again in Glasgow.
The Netherlands won the European indoor gold medal in Torun 2021 and the Olympic silver in Tokyo later that year. The Dutch team later won the world indoor bronze in 2022 and the European Indoor bronze in 2023.
Another team with a good chance to win a medal is Czech Republic, who finished fifth at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade and set the national record at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest with 3:00.99. The Czech team will feature three-time 400m world indoor champion Pavel Maslak.
Poland and Nigeria have the potential to fight for a medal. The other teams entered are Kenya, Slovakia and Portugal.
