+++ PRESS RELEASE INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2019 +++ Fabian Dürr Telephone: 0721 782045-261 European champion Gesa Felicitas Email: [email protected] Krause to compete at the INDOOR Karlsruhe, January 3, 2019 MEETING Karlsruhe Not only die-hard athletics fans still have the drama surrounding Gesa Felicitas Krause ingrained in their memory: When the medal contender took to the starting blocks at the 2017 World Championships in London, she became entangled with a stumbling competitor, through no fault of her own, during the final race of the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Despite the pain and dizziness, she struggled to her feet, finished in ninth place, and was showered with praise for this achievement. Gesa Krause’s 2018 European Championship triumph in Berlin was also a memorable occasion, when she outran her strong Swiss competitor Fabienne Schlumpf after the last water jump with an explosive finish in the 3,000- meter steeplechase final and went on to praise the “breath-taking atmosphere” in the stadium. This was Krause’s second European Championship title following her 2016 steeplechase triumph in Amsterdam. Ever since she snagged a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, Gesa Felicitas Krause has been considered the measure of all things in Germany when it comes to the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Her track record includes four consecutive German outdoor titles in the 3,000-meter steeplechase from 2015 onwards, to which she added a gold medal in the 5,000 meters in 2017. However, she doesn’t need obstacles to rank among the best, and has demonstrated this with her successes at indoor competitions. In 2015, she won the German Championship title over 3,000 meters at the Karlsruhe arena, having already taken the bronze medal in the 1,500-meter race in 2012, back then in the Europahalle, at the young age of 20. She continues to run this distance regularly and managed to improve her personal indoor best in the 1,500 meters to 4:08.91 minutes at the 2016 INDOOR MEETING. Her personal best over 3,000 meters is currently 8:49.43 minutes – she first succeeded in breaking the nine-minute mark in 2016 at the indoor meeting in Glasgow. Her recorded best in Karlsruhe is 9:00.25 minutes. Time for the European champion to crack that nine-minute mark here too. Aside from Gesa Felicitas Krause, numerous other top athletes have already confirmed their attendance at the INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe. In the pole vault, for example, Lisa Ryzih will face off against Ekaterini Stefanidi, the current Olympic champion, world champion, and European champion, both indoors and outdoors. European high jump champion Mateusz Pryzbylko’s competition includes Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy. Two athletes who leaped onto the podium with silver medals in Berlin in 2018 will also be joining the competition – Fabian Heinle in the long jump and Kristin Gierisch in the triple jump. The fact that the global athletics elite will be flocking to Karlsruhe on February 2 Fabian Dürr has sent ticket sales through the roof. All advance tickets – 5,000 in total – for the Telephone: 0721 782045-261 INDOOR MEETING KARLSRUHE were sold out before Christmas, earlier than ever Email: [email protected] before. A small number of tickets will still be available on the day. This is mainly due to technical blocks, as a result of which these tickets can only be released Karlsruhe, January 3, 2019 once the stands have been constructed. www.meeting-karlsruhe.de www.facebook.com/IndoorMeetingKarlsruhe www.twitter.com/INDOOR_MEETING www.instagram.com/indoormeetingkarlsruhe IAAF World Indoor Tour 2019 stops: January 26, 2019: New Balance Indoor Grand Prix (Boston, USA) February 2, 2019: INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe (GER) February 6, 2019: Copernicus Cup (Torun, POL) February 8, 2019: Madrid Indoor Meeting (ESP) February 16, 2019: Müller Indoor Grand Prix (Birmingham, GBR) February 20, 2019: 14th International PSD Bank Meeting (Düsseldorf, GER) .