Malaika Mihambo, here at the ISTAF in the Olympic Stadium in September, will also fly far at the indoor festival Photo: AFP
From BZ/dpa
The two Istaf indoor events next year will be enhanced by a trio of athletics stars.
This is how the European Sprint Champion start Gina Lückenkemper and Olympic long jump champion Malaika Mihambo both at the indoor meeting in Düsseldorf on January 29 and in Berlin on February 10.
Pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis from Sweden will be on the track at his only start in Germany in the 2023 indoor season in the Mercedes-Benz Arena in the capital, as the organizers announced on Tuesday.
“Even after my premiere in 2022, it was clear to me that I really wanted to be there again,” said Olympic and world champion Duplantis, “let’s see if I can raise the meeting record a little together with the fans.”
This year, Duplantis set meeting records in Düsseldorf with 6.02 meters and Berlin with 6.03 meters. He set his world record at 6.21 meters when he won the World Indoor Championships.
YESAA! European champion Gina Lückenkemper can’t believe it, screaming her joy after winning the sensational gold over the 100 meters at the European Championships in Munich Photo: KAI PFAFFENBACH/REUTERS
The 26-year-old Lückenkemper is now starting in Düsseldorf for the first time since her double triumph at the European Championships in Munich in August, after she has recovered from her injury sustained at the European Championships and is training again in Florida.
Long jump Olympic champion and world champion Mihambo is also starting the new indoor season in Düsseldorf and Berlin. The 28-year-old had achieved a best performance of 7.07 meters in Berlin in 2020.