Disciplines 2025
As part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour
The magical seven seconds
From 1985 to 2006, the 60 meters was a permanent fixture at the INDOOR MEETING KARLSRUHE. During this time, pretty much everyone whose fast legs made for fast times did the honors. Be it Merlene Ottey or Irina Privalova, who both became the first women in the world to run under seven seconds in Madrid on February 14, 1992. Both were also among the winners at the INDOOR MEETING. Ottey won in 1995 and Privalova, who in the meantime had improved the world record to 6.92 seconds, which is still valid today, won in 1996. Her time of 7.04 seconds is still the meeting record. From 2010, a German athlete, Verena Sailer, also got involved again. The 2010 European 100-meter champion in Barcelona was only beaten by Bulgaria's Ivet Lalova in a photo finish at the 2013 meeting. Both crossed the finish line at the same time in 7.19 seconds. She then won the INDOOR MEETING for the first time in 2014. Verena Sailer is no longer competing, having ended her career in 2015. However, it took three editions of the INDOOR MEETING for a German athlete to triumph again in 2018. After Dina Asher Smith from Great Britain (2015 in 7.12 seconds), Dafne Schippers from the Netherlands (2016 in 7.08 seconds) and the Jamaican Gayan Evans (2017 in 7.14 seconds), it was Tatjana Pinto who secured victory in 7.10 seconds in 2018. The starting signal for a great year. In addition to her victory at the INDOOR MEETING, she also won the German indoor titles in the 60 and 200 meters and the bronze medal with the 4 x 100 meter relay team at the European Championships in Berlin. Ewa Swoboda won the women's sprint in the same time (7.10 seconds) in 2019.
In the last edition of the women's 60 meters in 2023, Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith won with a national record and meeting record in 7.04 seconds ahead of Poland's Ewa Swoboda (7.09 seconds).
As part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour
Sound barrier two minutes
Maria Lurdes Mutola has won the 800 meters at the INDOOR MEETING a total of four times. The Olympic champion at the 2000 Sydney Games and multiple outdoor and indoor world champion also holds the meeting record, which has stood at 1:57.48 minutes since February 15, 2004. In all four of her victories in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2008, the woman from Mozambique ran faster than two minutes and thus made her mark on this distance like no other. But ten years before Mutola's meeting record, the two-minute mark was broken for the first time. Romanian Ella Kovacs, who also won the meeting three times, ran the four stadium laps in 1:59.66 minutes in 1994, her third meeting victory. A time that was only beaten by one hundredth of a second six years later by the Russian Natalya Tsyganova. German runners also shone in the 800 meters at the INDOOR MEETING. Gabi Lesch, who won the first meeting in 1985, was successful a total of three times. Gabi Bußmann, Sigrun Grau and Christine Wachtel as well as the last German winner, Heike Meißner, who won in 2001, were also able to celebrate in the 800 meters.
The last time the women's 800 meters was on the program was in 2023. Back then, the day's victory went to Slovenia's Anita Horvat, who won in a time of 2:00.44 minutes, a personal best.
As part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour
Almost new, but already Cult
It is the longest distance at the INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe: the women's 3,000 meters. This competition has only been part of the meeting program since 2010, but even at its premiere it caused great enthusiasm among the athletics-mad Karlsruhe audience, who have always had a special relationship with the long distance. This certainly has something to do with the unforgettable runs of Haile Gebrselassie in the men's race, but what the women have offered the spectators since their first appearance in 2010 is hardly inferior. Since then, the 3,000 meters at the INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe has been one of the highlights of the programme.
The last time the women's 3,000 meters was run was in 2023. At that time, the clock stopped at 8:37.55 minutes when crossing the finish line. This time was run by the Ethiopian Lemlem Hailu.
As part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour
From Nicole Rieger to Silke Spiegelburg
When the women's pole vault was included in the INDOOR MEETING program for the first time in 1992, this discipline was still in its infancy and the technique with which the women swung over the bar at the time was far from perfected. But the inclusion in the INDOOR MEETING program gave this discipline a huge boost and the Karlsruhe meeting became one of the pioneers of the women's pole vault. 3.80 meters was enough for the then winner Nicole Rieger from ASV Landau to win. Seven years later, Nicole Humbert, as she was called after her marriage, jumped a world record of 4.56 meters in Stockholm, which illustrates the rapid development of this discipline among women. In the early years, Nicole Humbert and the Chinese women Sun Cayun and Cai Weiyan dominated the pole vault at the meeting. Later it was Svetlana Feofanova from Russia, multiple medal winner at the World and European Championships as well as the Olympic Games, and Anna Rogowska from Poland. She has also won multiple World Championship, European Championship and Olympic medals. Silke Spiegelburg from Leverkusen won in 2011 and 2012.
In 2019, the last edition of the women's pole vault to date, there was a novelty. For the first time in the history of the INIT INDOOR MEETING, three female athletes came out on top. With Alysha Newman from Canada, Anzhelika Sidorova from Russia and Katerina Stefanidi from Greece, three jumpers had the same height and attempt and shared the place on the podium with 4.71 metres.
As part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour
Strong women take centre stage
With the women's shot put, a discipline that has only been included in the meeting program three times so far - in 2017, 2021 and 2023 - will be introduced in 2025. The women's shot put is one of the most successful disciplines in Germany and internationally. In recent years, there have been names such as Astrid Kumbernuss, who won Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996 and was world champion three times in total. Or Nadine Kleinert, who won a total of four silver and two bronze medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships. Most recently, Christina Schwanitz caused a stir when she won the world title in 2015 with a throw of 20.37 meters and was subsequently voted Germany's female athlete of the year. In recent years, Valerie Adams dominated the shot put in the world until her injury. The New Zealander is the only athlete to have thrown the shot put over 21 meters after the era of questionable record throws from the 1980s was over. However, neither Adams nor Schwanitz triumphed at the Olympic Games in Rio. Gold went to Michelle Carter from the USA ahead of Valerie Adams, who still won silver after her injury break. Christina Schwanitz, who also missed almost the entire season due to injury, only managed sixth place in Rio. She last caused a stir with her 19.19-metre throw at the 2018 European Championships in her home country, winning silver. In 2021, Portugal's Auriol Dongmo won the INDOOR MEETING with her 19.65-metre throw, which was a national and meeting record.
At the last edition in 2023, it was also Auriol Dongmo who was victorious with 18.90 meters.
Out of tour
Meeting record for eternity?
The 400 metres is one of the disciplines that was already run at the first edition of the Indoor Meeting in 1985, but only ever made a brief appearance in the Meeting calendar. The meeting record in this discipline has been held by Helga Arendt since 1988, when the runner from Eintracht Hamm completed the two stadium laps in an astonishing 50.84 seconds.
The Italian Ayomide Folorunso was unable to change this at the last meeting in 2020. She ran the 400 metres in the Karlsruhe Arena in 52.56 seconds to win ahead of Switzerland's Léa Sprunger, who had won this distance at the INIT INDOOR MEETING two years previously.
Out of tour
Is it all about Heike?
Karlsruhe has been the home of Heike Drechsler for a number of years now, and it would probably not be enough to list her successes on one sheet of paper. Just this much: five Olympic medals, including two golds for two Olympic victories in the long jump (1992 Barcelona and 2000 Sydney), two outdoor World Championship titles, also in the long jump (1983 and 1993), four consecutive outdoor titles at European Championships (1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998) in the long jump and one European Championship gold in the 200 meters (1986), in addition to two indoor World Championship titles (long jump and 200 meters) plus four indoor European Championship titles in the long jump. Plus countless German championship titles and, last but not least, four-time long jump winner at the INDOOR MEETING (1993, 1994, 1995 and 2001). It almost goes without saying that she has also held the meeting record of 7.06 meters since 1994. Her best indoor performance is 7.37 meters - a world record under an indoor roof. She is the most successful long jumper of all time and is still closely associated with the INDOOR MEETING.In the recent past, however, the Karlsruhe athletics audience has also experienced great female athletes live in the hall. Above all, Olympic and world champion Malaika Mihambo, who was also named Germany's Sportswoman of the Year in 2019, 2020 and 2021, is a welcome guest in Karlsruhe. In 2020, her jump of 6.83 meters brought her second place ahead of Ukraine's Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, who won the day with 6.92 meters and ultimately also secured the overall victory of the World Indoor Tour.
At the last edition in 2023, the Serbian Ivana Vuleta, better known as Ivana Spanovic, was successful with a distance of 6.76 meters.
