+++ PRESS RELEASE INDOOR MEETING 2020 +++

Fabian Dürr Karlsruhe celebrates spectacular athletics Phone: 0721 782045-261 Yaroslava Mahuchikh sets U20 World Record / Athletes race to five top Email: [email protected] performances of the year and four national records / Completely sold out athletics arena Karlsruhe, 2 February 2020

During the 36th edition of the , which was held last night, spectators in the sold-out athletics arena in Karlsruhe were once again treated to world-class athletics. High jumper and shooting star Yaroslava Mahuchikh above all demonstrated her top form, setting a new world record for the under-20s. This stellar feat was joined by five top performances of the year as well as three national records. By successfully jumping over 2.02 metres, Ukrainian Yaroslava Mahuchikh managed to snag the victory and a new U20 World Record at only 18 years, beating fellow Ukrainian Yuliya Levchenko (1.99 metres). A strong performance by Imke Onnen saw her take third place, reaching the Olympic qualifying height with her jump of 1.96 metres. The men’s contest did not end up in the expected battle between two-time World Champion Sam Kendricks – who exited the competition early as he didn’t manage to make the 5. – and world record holder Renaud Lavillenie. The Frenchman instead duelled for victory with his brother Valentin Lavillenie. In the end, five-year-older brother Renaud managed the 5.70 metre jump in his first attempt, with his brother having to settle for second place. The podium was completed by Dutchman Menno Vloon (5.70 metres in the third attempt). After the competition, Renaud Lavillenie was delighted by his victory and his brother taking second place: “With my brother Valentin in second place, today’s Meeting was a family affair as well. Managing to take the first two spots is a great success.” A last-minute addition, 2019 Female Athlete of the Year Malaika Mihambo, competed in both the 60 metres as well as the . In spite of taking the fifth spot (7.37 seconds) during the heats and qualifying for the finals, Mihambo opted not to appear at the start and focus all efforts on her beloved long jump, taking second spot with a jump of 6.83 metres. She only had to concede to the Ukrainian Vice World Champion of 2019, Maryna Bekh- Romanchuk (6.92 metres). In the end, US athlete captured the victory on the 60 metres with a time of 7.20 seconds. Kenyan Bethwell Birgen managed to log the best time of the year, already capturing his second Tour victory after – additionally securing the best chances to take home the overall Tour victory. He raced the 15 laps in a time of

7:38.50 minutes, relegating Birhanu Balew (7:40.93 minutes) and Justus Soget (7:41.31 minutes) to second and third place. The men's race was extremely fast as well. With another best time of the year – 1:46.38 minutes –, Mostafa Smaili raced to the victory, beating the original favourites Alvaro de Arriba (current European Indoor Champion) and Andreas Kramer (European Vice Champion 2018). The women’s race had two winners. Both logging 52.56 seconds, Fabian Dürr Italian athletes Ayomide Folorunso and Swiss Lea Sprunger won their Phone: 0721 782045-261 Email: [email protected] respective races and jointly took the top spot.

The 3,000 metres women’s race offered clearer results. With a significant lead, Karlsruhe, 2 February 2020 Ethiopian Fantu Worku outpaced Kenian Quailyne Jebiwott Kiprop in a time of 8:37.58 minutes. Axumawit Embaye crowned her sixth performance on the 1, with her second gold medal. She ran to victory in Karlsruhe in 4:07.94 minutes, also taking the top spot in the overall Indoor Tour ranking. Nigerian Tobi Amusan proved to the crowd in Karlsruhe that she is one of the fastest athletes in her discipline, the race. The 22-year-old took the top spot in both the heats (7.95 seconds) and the finals (7.84 seconds). The second spot went to (7.98 seconds) from the USA, before Finnish athlete (8.02 seconds). The men’s long jump was scheduled outside of the regular World Athletics Indoor Tour, and this occasion was used to test a new type of race. After five attempts, the three best athletes determined the podium placement during a final jump – with only this jump counting for the day’s victory. Spaniard Eusebio Cáceres secured the win with his jump of 7.99 metres, in front of Vladyslav Mazur (7.84 metres) from the and local hero Julian Howard of LG Region Karlsruhe, who set the best result before the final jump with 7.88 metres and additionally faced an error in the distance measurement. During the final jump, however, he stepped over the foul line and had to settle for third place. “I immediately noticed that my incorrectly measured jump wasn’t 8.10 metres. It’s hard for me to be satisfied with 7.88 metres, but generally speaking, it was a great competition. There’s nothing better than jumping for a home crowd here in Karlsruhe,” explained a visibly moved Howard after the competition.

Karlsruhe once again revelled in world-class athletics, in a sold-out athletics arena in Hall 3 of the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre with around 5,000 visitors. At the end of the day, Sports Director Alain Blondel summarised the event in a very positive manner: “I believe that we’ve seen something unique today. We are above all happy about the induction of the International Association of Athletics Federations into the ‘Hall of Fame’. This makes us very proud. And with the belated celebration of the bronze medal for Christina Obergföll Obergföll at the Daegu World Championships, we had the opportunity to show well-deserved respect to a fantastic athlete.”

Martin Wacker, Meeting Director and Managing Director of the host organisation Karlsruhe Marketing und Event GmbH, could only agree: “We’ve once again had a fantastic INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe. Top athletics in Karlsruhe with great international allure. The images from Karlsruhe were broadcast live in over 100 countries for two hours. This is exceptional marketing for the city, staging Karlsruhe in a dynamic and modern way.” Fabian Dürr The World Athletics Indoor Tour will continue on 4 February in Düsseldorf, Phone: 0721 782045-261 Email: [email protected] before visiting Torun (8 February), (15 February), and Liévin (19

February), leading up to the Tour Finals on 21 February in . Karlsruhe, 2 February 2020

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