The indoor season in Europe reaches its conclusion this weekend with many countries staging their domestic indoor championships, including France, Poland, Spain and Greece. We have picked out six events to watch across the next two days.
Thiam to contest the long jump at French Indoor Championships
Nafissatou Thiam told reporters she hasn’t had injuries of any description during her off-season and evidence of this came at the Belgian Indoor Championships in Gent where she sped to a season opening 8.34 in the 60m hurdles, the second fastest time of her career.
Thiam will conclude her brief indoor campaign across the border at the French Indoor Championships in Lievin where she will contest the long jump on Sunday. Thiam has also announced she won’t contest a heptathlon prior to her title defence at the 2020 Olympics but she will be competing in individual competitions, including the high jump at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.
More information here.
A landmark figure for Lavillenie in Lievin?
Renaud Lavillenie recovered from a mid-season slump in front of his home supporters in Clermont-Ferrand last Sunday where he matched Sweden’s Armand Duplantis all the way through to 5.94m - which he cleared on his first attempt - before some decent attempts at 6.01m.
This mark corresponded to his best vault indoors in four years - even surpassing his winning jump at the 2018 World Indoor Championships - and just as importantly, he also accrued his 149th career competition in which he has cleared 5.80m or higher. Will he reach the 150 mark in front of his home fans in Lievin on Sunday?
More information here.
Swiety-Ersetic to contend for three titles in Torun?
European outdoor 400m champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic is renowned for being a prolific racer and she has set herself a tough assignment at the Polish Indoor Championships in Torun this weekend.
Swiety-Ersetic is the favourite in her specialist event - she set a national indoor 400m record and European lead of 51.37 on this track at the Copernicus Cup earlier this month - and she has also entered the 200m and 4x200m relay.
More information here.
Bukowiecki and Haratyk to renew shot put rivalry
Konrad Bukowiecki and Michal Haratyk will go head-to-head once again for domestic stakes at the Polish Indoor Championships. Haratyk might be the reigning European indoor and outdoor champion but Bukowiecki has largely had the upper hand in the early weeks of the 2020 season and is second only to Ryan Crouser on the 2020 world list with a season’s best of 21.88m.
More information here.
Combined eventers to command spotlight at Spanish Indoor Championships
Reigning European indoor heptathlon champion Jorge Urena will be in action at the Spanish Indoor Championships which take place in the north-west of the country in Ourense. Urena took a notable win in Tallinn at the start of the month when he scored 6091 points and Johannes Erm’s European-leading mark of 6114 points could be a realistic goal.
The pentathlon line-up is headed by reigning European U18 and U20 heptathlon champion Maria Vicente. Still only 18, Vicente won the title twelve months ago with a national senior record of 4412 points.
More information here.
Tentoglou takes to the runway at the Greek Indoor Championships
Miltiadis Tentoglou hasn’t made the indoor season much of a priority after a long outdoor campaign last year but he has been ultra consistent, surpassing the eight metre-line in his four long jump competitions in 2020.
The reigning European indoor and outdoor champion will be one of the star attractions at the Greek Indoor Championships tomorrow and for posterity, the European indoor lead this season stands at 8.22m to Thobias Montler from last weekend’s Swedish Indoor Championships.
More information here.