Meet Athletic Legends: Swoboda, Hailu, and Nader Make Their Return to Ostrava | World Athletics News

The Czech Indoor Gala is back, taking place in Ostrava on 4 February as part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold. This event promises exciting races and thrilling rivalries.

One highlight is Poland’s Ewa Swoboda, who set a stunning record of 7.07 seconds in the 60m last year. She also won a silver medal at the world indoor championship in Glasgow. Ewa will defend her title and face tough competition from Luxembourg’s Patrizia van der Weken, who finished second last year. Australia’s Torrie Lewis is stepping onto the indoor track for the first time, and there’s also local favorite Karolina Manasova.

In the mile race, Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu, the reigning world indoor 1500m champion, looks to defend her title after setting a meeting record of 4:17.36 last year. She’ll be challenged by Sembo Almayew, another Ethiopian and last year’s world U20 3000m steeplechase champion, who was also honored as the Women’s Rising Star at the 2024 World Athletics Awards.

Kazakhstan’s Norah Jeruto, who won the world championship in 3000m steeplechase in 2022, will also participate, adding more excitement to the event.

In the 1500m, Portugal’s Isaac Nader will look to shine once again after breaking the meeting and national record last year with a time of 3:34.23. This time, he’s aiming for the mile distance.

He’ll have strong competition from Great Britain’s Elliot Giles, who previously claimed the 1500m title in Ostrava in 2022.

With such a talented lineup, the Czech Indoor Gala is set to be an unforgettable event.