Press

Press Release 2026, January 20th

INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2026: Fast times guaranteed in the men's 1,500 metres

Last year's winner Samuel Pihlström faces world number one Azeddine Habz / SWR will broadcast the meeting live via stream and in the ARD media library / World Indoor Tour Gold starts this coming weekend

The men's 1,500 metres at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe on 8 February is set to be an exciting and, above all, fast race, as Samuel Pihlström, last year's overall winner of the tour over this distance, will be competing against Azeddine Habz, who currently tops the world rankings for the 1,500 metres. They will be joined by other world-class athletes such as Anass Essayi from Morocco, Federico Riva from Italy and Karl Bebendorf from Germany.

Press Release 2026, January 15th

US girls face German hurdling power at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2026

Grace Stark and Alaysha Johnson, as well as Ricarda Lobe and Marlene Meier, are part of the starting field.

The women's 60-metre hurdles is a discipline that will forever be associated with the name Susanna Kallur at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe in the Europahalle. In 2008, the Swedish athlete set an indoor world record here with a time of 7.68 seconds, which stood for a total of 16 years and was only improved by one hundredth of a second in 2024. This discipline is therefore always a highlight at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe. This will also be the case this year on 8 February, when American athletes Grace Stark and Alaysha Johnson, as well as German athletes Ricarda Lobe and Marlene Meier, will be among those competing.

Press Release 2026, January 12th

World record holder Grant Holloway celebrates his Karlsruhe debut at the INIT INDOOR MEETING over 60 metres

International top athletes Ronnie Baker and Emmanuel Eseme face German champion Owen Ansah / Local hero Robin Ganter takes on strong competition

The men's sprint at the INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2026 will be fast – really fast! Grant Holloway, none other than the indoor world record holder in the 60 metres hurdles, has confirmed his participation in the sold-out INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe. However, the American will not be competing in his signature event, the 60 metres hurdles, but in the sprint distance in order to improve his sprinting skills during the indoor season. He will face strong international competition there, as his compatriot Ronnie Baker, who won the World Indoor Tour in 2020, will also be competing at the Europahalle in Karlsruhe. The two Americans will be joined by Cameroon's Emmanuel Eseme, reigning German 100 metres champion Owen Ansah and local hero Robin Ganter.

Press Release 2026, January 8th

World-class pole vaulting at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe with German participation

Numerous 2024 Olympic finalists competing in Karlsruhe / Sold-out INIT INDOOR MEETING to be broadcast live on SWR and available to watch on the ARD media library

An illustrious field of competitors awaits visitors to the already completely sold-out INIT INDOOR MEETING in Karlsruhe on 8 February, as five of the nine competitors in the Karlsruhe field also competed for the gold medal at the 2024 Olympic final in Paris. Among them are the two German star athletes Bo Kanda Lita Baehre and Oleg Zernikel, who both finished ninth at the Olympic Games with a jump of 5.70 metres and the same number of failed attempts.

Press Release 2025, December 15th

World class at the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2026: Long jump star Malaika Mihambo takes to the starting line

Larissa Iapichino and Hilary Kpatcha are among the other stars competing / Sold-out meeting to be streamed live on SWR and available to watch on ARD Mediathek

World-class athletics guaranteed: With the confirmation of three top long jumpers, Malaika Mihambo, Larissa Iapichino and Hilary Kpatcha, 3,750 athletics fans can look forward to the best that women's long jump currently has to offer on 8 February 2026 in Karlsruhe's Europahalle, which is already completely sold out.

Press Release 2025, December 2nd

INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2026 completely sold out

No tickets available at the box office / SWR will broadcast the meeting live via stream and in the ARD media library

It took exactly two weeks for the last of the 3,750 tickets for the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe, part of the international indoor athletics series World Indoor Tour Gold, to sell out on Sunday, 8 February 2026, at the Europahalle in Karlsruhe. 

Press Release 2025, November 19th

Seating allocation for the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2026 sold out within twelve hours: standing room tickets now on sale

It took around twelve hours for the last of the approximately 3,500 seats for the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe on 8 February 2026 in Karlsruhe's Europahalle to be sold. This means that the world stars of the athletics scene will, as usual, compete in front of a sold-out arena at the fifth stop of the World Indoor Tour Gold. ‘It's great to see how the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe inspires athletics fans on a global level,’ said Martin Wacker, managing director of the organising company Karlsruhe Marketing und Event GmbH.

Press Release 2025, November 18th

Advance ticket sales for the INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe 2026 have started

Tickets available online from Ticketmaster / Karlsruhe is the fifth stop on the international indoor athletics series World Indoor Tour / Points for the overall victory will be awarded in nine of eleven disciplines in Karlsruhe

World-class athletics in a total of eleven disciplines. Athletics fans can look forward to this again when the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold world series stops off in Karlsruhe on 8 February 2026 with the INIT INDOOR MEETING. This means that Karlsruhe will once again be one of eight meetings with Gold status – the highest category an indoor meeting can be awarded – as an athletics venue next year.

Press Release 2025, October 1st

41st INIT INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe on 8 February 2026

Advance ticket sales start on 18 November 2025

World-class athletics is coming to the Europahalle Karlsruhe for a Sunday afternoon session: on Sunday, 8 February 2026, the international indoor athletics series World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold will be stopping off at the Europahalle. Starting at 4:30 p.m., spectators will experience the fifth of a total of eight tour stops live on site. This means that Karlsruhe remains part of the highest category awarded for indoor meetings. As in 2025, TV and streaming images from Karlsruhe will be broadcast worldwide – last year, the meeting was seen in over 120 countries.