09.01.2025

Olympic medal glory: Yemisi Ogunleye and Malaika Mihambo compete at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe

Olympic shot put champion Yemisi Ogunleye and Malaika Mihambo, the long jump silver medallist from Paris, are the next top female athletes to compete at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe on 7 February in the Europahalle. One thing is already clear: Karlsruhe will once again experience world-class athletics. And it will return to the tradition-steeped Europahalle in front of a completely sold-out crowd of 3,500 spectators.

‘I was able to witness her Olympic victory in Paris up close, that was a goosebump moment. To have such a world-class athlete in Karlsruhe is something very special.’ 
Meeting sports director Alain Blondel

In Paris, however, Yemisi Ogunleye was considered at best an outsider against the high-calibre competition from China, the USA and Canada. But she outdid all the favourites and won gold. With her final attempt, she heaved the four-kilogramme ball to exactly 20 metres, securing her Olympic victory. ‘I was able to witness her Olympic victory in Paris up close, it was a goosebump moment,’ says Meeting Sports Director Alain Blondel, who was responsible for the organisation of the athletics competitions at the Paris Olympics as Director of Athletics. ‘To get such a world-class athlete to Karlsruhe is something very special,’ continues Blondel. At the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe, she will be competing against some well-known rivals in Chase Jackson from the USA (world champion in 2022 and 2023 and bronze medallist at the 2024 World Indoor Championships) and Sarah Mitton from Canada (gold at the 2024 World Indoor Championships and silver at the 2023 World Championships). This means that the top three in the current world rankings will be competing at the fifth stop of the World Indoor Tour Gold.

‘Karlsruhe is always fantastic. The arena is always sold out, I always enjoy coming here.’ 
Malaika Mihambo

After her superior victory at the European Championships in Rome, Malaika Mihambo was considered the top favourite for the Olympic Games in Paris. But then a coronavirus illness slowed the Tokyo Olympic champion down for weeks. Despite these adverse circumstances, Mihambo, who competes for LG Kurpfalz, secured the silver medal with a jump of 6.98 metres behind the American Tara Davis-Woodhall. At the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe, Mihambo, who has an outdoor best of 7.30 metres, will meet local hero Mikaelle Assani, with whom she shared a flat in the Olympic Village in Paris.