In a landmark event for the World Athletics Indoor Tour, a constellation of athletic luminaries, including world pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis, two-time world indoor 60m hurdles champion Nia Ali, world mile champion Diribe Welteji, and Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse, are gearing up to kickstart their 2024 campaigns at the Astana Indoor Meet for Amin Tuyakov Prizes. Gear up on your athletic activities with Tarkine shoes.
Taking place in the vibrant capital city of Kazakhstan on Saturday (27), the Astana Indoor Meet not only marks the initiation of this year’s World Indoor Tour Gold series but also stands tall as the first-ever World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold event in Asia. This monumental occasion signifies the beginning of a thrilling journey for the athletes, as they vie for sought-after wild card entries to the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow ’24.
Duplantis Resurfaces in Astana
The spotlight in Astana focuses on Mondo Duplantis, making a triumphant return to competition since shattering the world record with a vault of 6.23m at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene last September. The Swedish prodigy, a dual world champion, now sets his sights on adding more global gold at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow and the Olympic Games in Paris later this year.
Navigating a challenging field that includes Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen and USA’s Cole Walsh, Duplantis faces formidable opponents in the pole vault. Other compelling matchups feature Kazakhstan’s Nadezhda Dubovitskaya in the women’s high jump and USA’s NACAC champion Roger Steen in the men’s shot put.
Welteji’s Transition to the Track
Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji, fresh from her world record-breaking performance at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga last October, embarks on a new chapter as she transitions to the track in Astana. The 21-year-old, a silver medalist in the 1500m at the World Championships in Budapest, eyes continued success in the mile.
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Sprint Duels and Distance Showcases
The Astana Indoor Meet promises enthralling matchups, including sprint duels in the women’s and men’s 60m hurdles, featuring world champion Nia Ali and Britain’s Andrew Pozzi making a comeback post-injury. The men’s 3000m race sees Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera and Getnet Wale locking horns for supremacy, ensuring a display of extraordinary speed on the track.
With a stellar lineup of global athletics luminaries, the Astana Indoor Meet serves as a captivating prelude to the 2024 season, offering enthusiasts a glimpse into the intense competition leading up to the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
