Press

Press Release 2025, February 7th

INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2025: 40th anniversary with numerous records

Malaika Mihambo jumps to the meeting record / Sarah Mitton improves the meeting record in the shot put by over a metre / No one has ever run the 400 metres in Karlsruhe faster than Brian Faust / Eight national records / Two world-leading performances / Live broadcast from Karlsruhe in over 120 countries

On Friday evening, 3,500 enthusiastic spectators witnessed exciting competitions at the highest level at the sensational return of the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe in the sold-out Karlsruhe Europahalle. The international top athletes showed themselves in top form in 11 disciplines at the anniversary meeting and set meeting records, national records and world-year bests. 

Press Release 2025, February 4th

The two-minute sound barrier is to be broken at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2025

Top Ethiopian runners compete in the women's 800 metres / 3.5 hours of world-class athletics in a sold-out Europahalle / Watch live with the SWR stream

Outdoors, they all have times of under two minutes. Under the indoor roof, however, Habitam Alemu's 1:57.86 minutes stands out. The woman from Ethiopia ran this time during her meeting victory last year at the Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland, which is also part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold. This was not only a meeting record, but also a personal best for the 27-year-old from the large Ethiopian running community. Her greatest international success to date was winning the bronze medal at the 2018 African Championships in Asaba in 1:58.86 minutes behind South Africa's Caster Semenya and Francine Niyonsaba from Burundi. In addition to Alemu, her compatriot Worknesh Mesele will also be competing at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe. 

Press Release 2025, January 28th

The men's 3,000 metres at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe is a tough one

German elite meets international competition / Watch live with the SWR stream

When the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe, the fourth stop on the World Indoor Tour Gold, takes place over a total of 15 arena laps on 7 February, the 3,500 or so visitors to the sold-out Europahalle in Karlsruhe will be in for a real treat, as four top German athletes - Mohamed Abdilaahi, Karl Bebendorf, Maximilian Thorwirth and Florian Bremm - will be competing over this distance. However, they will be up against strong international competition, above all the Kenyan Jacob Krop and the Norwegian Narve Gilje Nordås.

Press Release 2025, January 21st

World-class performances over the hurdles distance at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe pre-programmed

Asier Martínez and Wilhelm Belocian meet German duo / Pupils from the region are in the spotlight ahead of the meeting / Watch live with the SWR stream

When it comes to the men's hurdles at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe on 7 February, fast times and world-class performances are inevitable. This is because Asier Martínez, the 2022 European champion and bronze medallist at the 2022 World Championships, has confirmed his participation at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe. The five-time Spanish national champion also competed in the Olympic final last August, finishing in sixth place. He will be joined by Wilhelm Belocian from France, who is no stranger to the Karlsruhe starting field.

Press Release 2025, January 15th

The women's pole vault is a high-flying event at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2025

Four finalists from the Paris Olympic Games at the start / Watch live with the SWR stream

The women's pole vault has a long tradition at the INIT INDOOR MEETING, where this discipline was launched. In 1992, it was Nicole Rieger (later Nicole Humbert) from Landau who won the first edition in the Europahalle with 3.90 metres. The meeting record now stands at 4.71 metres. Silke Spiegelburg set this record in 2011 and it still stands today. On 7 February, when the world stars of the athletics scene travel to Karlsruhe for the fifth stop on the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold, the women's pole vault will once again be part of the meeting programme.

Press Release 2025, January 9th

Olympic medal glory in Karlsruhe: Yemisi Ogunleye and Malaika Mihambo compete at the sold-out INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2025

Renowned competition for Ogunleye in the shot put / Watch live with the SWR stream

Olympic shot put champion Yemisi Ogunleye and Malaika Mihambo, the silver medallist in the long jump in Paris, are the next top athletes who will be competing 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.

Press Release 2024, December 17th

Sprint star Gina Lückenkemper and local hero Mikaelle Assani are coming to the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2025 

The first names for the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe as part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold on 7 February 2025 have been announced: athletics fans can look forward to two top athletes, Gina Lückenkemper in the sprint distance and local hero Mikaelle Assani in the long jump, who will be competing at the 40th INIT INDOOR MEETING in Karlsruhe's Europahalle.

Press Release 2024, December 2nd

Allotment of seats for INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2025 sold out: Standing room tickets go on sale 

Advance ticket sales start on 26 October / Karlsruhe is the fifth stop in the international indoor athletics series / Eight out of ten disciplines in Karlsruhe will be competing for points towards overall victory

It took just over five weeks for the approximately 3,500 seat tickets for the 40th INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe on 7 February in Karlsruhe's Europahalle to be sold out. One thing is clear: when world and European champions as well as Olympic champions come to Karlsruhe for the fifth stop of the World Indoor Tour Gold, they will be competing in front of a sold-out arena as usual.

Press Release 2024, October 23rd

INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2025: World-class athletics as part of the World Indoor Tour Gold

Advance ticket sales start on 26 October / Karlsruhe is the fifth stop in the international indoor athletics series / Eight out of ten disciplines in Karlsruhe will be competing for points towards overall victory

World-class athletics - in a total of ten disciplines. This is what INIT INDOOR MEETING fans can look forward to at the fifth stop of the international indoor athletics series World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold on 7 February 2025 in Karlsruhe. As an athletics venue, Karlsruhe is once again one of a total of nine meetings with gold status - the highest category in which an indoor meeting can be categorised. After a one-year break, the INIT INDOOR MEETING is back. And what better way to celebrate its 40th anniversary than with a return to the tradition-steeped Europahalle, which has already witnessed so many historic athletics moments.

Press Release 2024, June 19th

INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe once again part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold in 2025

Return on February 7, 2025 in the Europahalle / "Karlsruhe jumps" as part of the city festival on Schlossplat

With the reopening of Karlsruhe's Europahalle in late 2024, one thing is now certain: the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe will return in 2025 after a one-year break - and in its living room, the Europahalle. Athletics fans should mark a date in their diaries at the beginning of the year. Because on Friday, February 7, 2025, the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe will once again take place as part of the World Indoor Tour Gold of the World Athletics Association and will also celebrate its 40th anniversary.