Olympic and World Champions Headline Exciting Lineup at Karlsruhe Indoor Meeting

The INIT Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe is set to deliver world-class action as the fifth stop on the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold this season. Headlining Friday’s (7) competition is a thrilling shot put showdown featuring three global champions—Olympic gold medalist Yemisi Ogunleye, world indoor champion Sarah Mitton, and two-time world champion Chase Jackson—who will go head-to-head indoors for the first time since last year’s World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. With multiple major medallists across events, the Karlsruhe meeting promises an electrifying start to the indoor season. Here’s a closer look at the key matchups in our event-by-event preview.

• Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe Live Stream and TV Coverage Details

Women's Shot Put

The women’s shot put promises to be one of the highlights of the INIT Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe, featuring a clash of global champions. Olympic gold medallist Yemisi Ogunleye, world indoor champion Sarah Mitton, and two-time world champion Chase Jackson will meet indoors for the first time since last year’s World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

Ogunleye enjoyed a stellar 2024 season, winning Olympic gold with a throw of 20.00m, World Indoor silver with a PB of 20.19m, and European gold in Rome with 18.62m. She enters Karlsruhe ranked second on the world seasonal list with her 19.77m throw in Nordhausen.

Jackson, the reigning two-time world outdoor champion (Eugene 2022, Budapest 2023), also took World Indoor bronze in Glasgow. She began her 2025 indoor season with 19.13m in Astana and later placed third in Val de Reuil (19.43m) behind Jessica Schilder and Sarah Mitton.

Mitton captured world indoor gold in Glasgow with an indoor PB of 20.22m, narrowly defeating Ogunleye by three centimeters. She also secured world silver in Budapest 2023 (20.08m) and triumphed at the Diamond League Final in Brussels, where she defeated both Jackson and Ogunleye in their most recent head-to-head battle.

The Dutch standout Jessica Schilder, a two-time European outdoor champion (Munich 2022, Rome 2024), will also contend for victory. She leads the 2025 world rankings after a 19.86m throw in Val de Reuil.

Other top contenders include:

• Jorinde Van Klinken (Netherlands) – double silver medallist in shot put and discus at the 2024 European Championships
• Fanny Roos (Sweden) – seventh in the Olympic final in Paris 2024

Karlsruhe Meeting Director Alain Blondel expressed his excitement:
"I was able to witness Yemisi Ogunleye’s Olympic victory in Paris up close—it was a goosebump moment. Having such a world-class athlete in Karlsruhe is very special."

Women’s 60 Metres

Patrizia Van der Weken looks to secure her second straight win on the World Indoor Tour Gold circuit, following her 7.08 victory in Ostrava, where she defeated Ewa Swoboda. The Luxembourg sprinter, who finished fourth at the European Championships in Rome and claimed her first Diamond League win in Paris (100m), currently holds the fastest time in the world this season with 7.07.

The German crowd favorite, Gina Lückenkemper, is among Europe’s top sprinters and a 10-time international medallist. She clocked PBs of 10.93 in the 100m (ISTAF Berlin 2023) and 7.11 in the 60m (Dortmund). A double European gold medallist (100m, 4x100m relay, Munich 2022), she was instrumental in Germany’s 4x100m Olympic bronze medal win in Paris, marking the nation’s first Olympic 4x100m medal since reunification.

Lückenkemper will face her relay teammates Alexandra Burghardt and Lisa Mayer, alongside:

• Gina Bass Bittaye (Gambia) – African 100m champion, Stockholm Diamond League winner

Women’s Long Jump

European champion and Olympic silver medallist Malaika Mihambo will compete for the fourth time in Karlsruhe, aiming to continue her dominance. She won the European title in Rome (7.22m, world lead) and claimed Olympic silver in Paris with 6.98m, three years after her gold medal in Tokyo 2021.

Mihambo’s biggest challenger is Mikaelle Assani, her former roommate in the Paris Olympic Village. Assani, fourth at the World Indoor Championships (6.77m) and European Championships (6.91m), was unfortunate to miss the Olympic final due to a glute injury.

The event also features:

• Khaddi Sagnia (Sweden) – European indoor bronze medallist (Torun 2021)
• Milica Gardašević (Serbia) – European U20 champion (Grosseto 2017), sixth at the World Indoors (Glasgow 2024)

Mihambo on the Karlsruhe atmosphere:
"The arena is always sold out. I enjoy coming here."

Women’s Pole Vault

A high-caliber field is set for the pole vault, headlined by:

• Molly Caudery (Great Britain) – World Indoor champion (Glasgow 2024, 4.80m), European bronze medallist (Rome 2024, 4.73m)
• Alysha Newman (Canada) – Olympic bronze medallist (Paris 2024, 4.85m NR), 2019 Karlsruhe champion (4.71m)
• Angelica Moser (Switzerland) – European outdoor champion (Rome 2024, 4.78m), fourth at Paris 2024 (4.80m)
• Tina Šutej (Slovenia) – 2022 World Indoor silver medallist, recent winner in Ostrava (4.70m)

Men’s 60 Metres Hurdles

A battle of past European champions headlines the hurdles:

• Wilhem Belocian (France) – European indoor champion (Torun 2021, 7.42), world U20 champion (2014)
• Asier Martínez (Spain) – European outdoor champion (Munich 2022, 13.14), world bronze medallist (Eugene 2022, 13.17)
• Milan Trajković (Cyprus) – European indoor champion (Glasgow 2019), Olympic finalist (Rio 2016, 7th place)

Other names to watch:

• Jamal Britt (USA) – 13.07 PB in 110mH, 7.64 in 60mH (Boston 2025)

Men’s 3000 Metres

Kenyan Jacob Krop, world 5000m silver (Eugene 2022) and bronze medallist (Budapest 2023), takes on:

• Narve Gilje Nordås (Norway) – World 1500m bronze medallist (Budapest 2023, 3:29.88 PB)
• Karl Bebendorf (Germany) – European steeplechase bronze (Rome 2024, 8:14.41 PB)

Women’s 800 Metres

Ethiopian Habitam Alemu, 1:57.86 PB, faces:

• Audrey Werro (Switzerland) – Swiss record-holder (1:57.76), U20 European champion
• Prudence Sekgodiso (South Africa) – Diamond League winner (Marrakech, 1:57.26)

Men’s 1500 Metres & 400 Metres

Collins Kipruto (Kenya) takes on Sweden’s Samuel Pihlström and Italy’s Federico Riva in the 1500m, while Italy’s Luca Sito headlines the 400m against South Africa’s Zakithi Nene and US indoor champion Brian Faust.