07.02.2026

More than 120 athletes from around 40 countries are guests in Karlsruhe for the fifth stop of the World Indoor Tour Gold.

Four hours of world-class athletics in twelve disciplines: When the world stars of athletics visit the sold-out Europahalle in Karlsruhe with 3,750 visitors this coming Sunday, it will be time once again for the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe and the World Indoor Tour. In 2026, the traditional meeting will once again be one of eight indoor meetings with Gold Status – the highest category a meeting can be awarded.

More than 120 athletes from around 40 countries will compete in the 41st edition of the event at the traditional Europahalle on February 8, 2026. Among others, Germany's long jump queen Malaika Mihambo will be competing against Larissa Iapichino (fourth in the Olympics and European vice-champion in 2024) and Hilary Kpatcha (fourth in the World Championships in 2025). The high jump competition will feature world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh, her compatriot Yuliia Levchenko, and Germany's high jump high-flyer Christina Honsel, among others. Fast times are also guaranteed in the men's 60-meter sprint with Germany's Owen Ansah (the first German to run 100 meters in under ten seconds), who will face Cameroon's Emmanuel Eseme (PB indoor: 6.52 seconds), among others. While in the women's 3,000 meters with Laura Muir from Great Britain, the current European record holder, at the start, Samuel Pihlström from Sweden (last year's 1,500-meter winner) will face Azeddine Habz (world number one) from France. There will also be Olympic flair in the men's pole vault: With Bo Kanda Lita Baehre, Menno Vloon (gold medalist at the 2025 European Indoor Championships), Ernest John Obiena from the Philippines, and Sondre Guttormsen from Norway, four athletes from the Paris 2024 Olympic final will be competing. They will be joined by Piotr Lisek from Poland, another six-meter jumper.

Information about tickets and travel

The INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe is already completely sold out, and there will be no box office on the day of the event. We also ask our visitors to travel by public transport, as there are only a very limited number of parking spaces available around the Europahalle. The admission ticket is valid as a ticket for travel to and from the venue by public transport. The hall opens at 2:30 p.m., and the competitions begin at 4:00 p.m.

SWR Sport will broadcast the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe live from 4:00 pm.

*Geo-restrictions may apply.