On Tuesday 9 January2024, a press conference for the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold – Czech Indoor Gala 2024 international meeting took place in Prague’s Adria Hotel on Wenceslas Square, where the next athletic stars were introduced. We can look forward to seeing the long jump Olympic and world champion of Greece Miltiadis Tentoglou in the Ostrava athletic arena on 30 January.
This year, the Czech Indoor Gala is in the highest Gold category of the WA Indoor Tour series for the first time. Thus, it is among the seven most elite indoor meetings in the world. It is no coincidence that it takes place in the athletics arena in Vítkovice. Ostrava is the city of athletics, and the local spectators always manage to create a unique atmosphere, which was regularly confirmed by the biggest athletic stars, led by the legendary Usain Bolt.
Moving the Czech Indoor Gala to the highest possible category of indoor world meets also means very interesting point bonuses for the Czech athletes who want to strive for nomination to the Olympic Games, the World Indoor Championships or the European Athletics Championships.
The legend of men´s long jump in Ostrava
In the men´s long jump competition, we can look forward to the most successful competitor in this event of the past decade. The Greek Miltiadis Tentoglou is already a true legend. He has won every attainable title. He won the Olympic Games in Tokyo and the last World Athletics Championships in Budapest. He also ruled the world indoor championship and European indoor championships. His personal record is worth an impressive 860cm.
In addition, Tentoglou has already won the Czech Indoor Gala twice in the past. This happened in 2018 and 2020. This year, he will aim for a hat-trick of victories, and of course, he also has his sights set on the meeting record, which has been held by the Swede Thobias Montler since 2022 with a performance of 821, who should also start in Ostrava. Tentoglou will complete only at three meetings before the World Athletics indoor championship, and the Czech Indoor Gala will be the first of them.
„I am looking forward to a successful start of the indoor season in Ostrava, which I would like to end with a successful defence of the world indoor champion title. I have had a successful preparation and I would like to decorate my third Ostrava triumph with a new meeting record. I am also looking forward to the fight with the Czech record holder Radek Juška, whom I respect very much,“ he says.
Several top rivals will try to complicate his path to achieving both goals. The Czech record holder Radek Juška (832), who had a successful year in 2023 when he won the fifth place at the European Athletics Indoor championships in Istanbul, seventh place at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest and fourth place in the Diamond League final. Also in the Olympic year 2024, he believes in another performance improvements and is thinking about the major events, even in the direction of the biggest festival of sports under the five rings.
A great Czech long jump talent Petr Meindlschmid, who until recently was deciding between a career of a football player and athletics, will also compete against experienced jumpers. However, it seems that the queen of sports is getting the upper hand, which was certainly helped by Peter’s results from last season, when he pushed the value of the junior national record to 781 and won the European Youth Olympic Festival. He was also among the favourites for the European Junior championships in Jerusalem. However, an injury prevented him from starting at this championship. He wants to succeed even more this year, when the world U20championship awaits him, where he can attack the medal positions.
Relay medallists against the elite opponents
In the women’s 400m, the pair of Czech bronze medallists from the 4x400m mixed relay from the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, as well as the 400m finalists from last year’s EICH in Istanbul, Lada Vondrová and Tereza Petržilková, must not be missing. Vondrová has already won the Czech Indoor Gala in 2020. Last year, she lost only to the Dutch Lieke Klaver and presented herself with an indoor personal best of 51.57. She was also able to push her performance under 51 seconds for the first time in her career under the open sky, when she met the sharp limit for the Olympic Games in Paris with a performance of 50.92.
Tereza Petržilková is the face of this year’s Czech Indoor Gala and last year at this meeting, she started a season full of great career milestones. She believes in further progress this year as well. Another important competitor for the home crowd is the European junior champion Lourdes Gloria Manuel. The 18-year-old talent from Tábor fought a thrilling battle with Lada Vondrová and Tereza Petržilková for the Czech championship title at the home stadium.
Lieke Klaver from the Netherlands will defend last year’s victory. A year ago, she decorated her primacy with a new meeting record of 51.00 and soon after that, she ran for silver at the European indoor championships in Istanbul. In addition, she won gold medals with the Dutch relay both at the indoor continental championship and at the World Championships under the open sky, where she also competed in the 400m final in which she managed a personal record of 49.81.
Justyna Swiety-Ersetic, the 2018 European champion and a member of the successful Polish relay teams, who has relay medals from the Olympic Games and world championships indoors and outdoors, should not be missing on the start. In the individual 400m, she also took silver at the 2021 European indoor championships in Toruń and bronze in 2017 in Belgrade. In the same season, she also won at the Czech Indoor Gala. The tally of her medal achievements from major international events is truly spectacular. In Ostrava, she would like to return in full glory after protracted health problems and to confirm that she belongs to the best European 400m runners of recent years.
The Czech Indoor Gala 2024 will take place on Tuesday 30 January 2024 in the Ostrava Athletic Arena. Tickets can be purchased via www.ticketportal.cz. Their price is 250 CZK /ca 10 EUR.