With less than a week to go until Czech Indoor Gala 2026, the event is sold out and fans can look forward to another showcase of top-class athletes who will compete on Tuesday, 3 February in Ostrava. The 800 m and 1500 m races will feature numerous medalists from major championships.
For the third consecutive year, Czech Indoor Gala is part of the highest Gold category of the World Athletics Indoor Tour. Interest from global athletics stars in competing in Ostrava is huge, and spectators in the sold-out arena can expect a unique spectacle full of dramatic battles and outstanding performances. The main program of the meeting will also be broadcast live on ČT sport on Tuesday, 3 February 2026 from 16:50.
Dudycha to challenge an elite field led by meeting record holder Crestan
Middle-distance runner Jakub Dudycha missed the now 16-year-old national record of Jakub Holuša by just 0.16 seconds at last year’s Czech Indoor Gala, clocking 1:46.25. This is certainly a target he will aim to attack again this year. Ostrava suits Jakub well – last summer at the Golden Spike he improved his own Czech outdoor record here to 1:44.48.
The biggest star of the men’s 800 m is expected to be Belgian Eliott Crestan. Last year, he marked his Czech Indoor Gala debut with a new meeting record of 1:44.69, which places him ninth on the European all-time indoor lists. He then went on to win silver medals at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn and the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing. He has taken home a medal from each of the last four major international indoor championships.
Joining him on the start line in Ostrava should also be two other medalists from last year’s European Indoor Championships: the winner, Dutchman Samuel Chapple, who triumphed on home soil in a national record of 1:44.88, and the experienced Irish representative Mark English, who claimed bronze. At a recent meeting in Luxembourg, English shone with a new national record of 1:44.65, making him the sixth-fastest European indoors of all time. Another very interesting athlete to watch will be Botswana’s Kethobogile Haingura, who has never competed indoors before. However, the African Championships silver medalist possesses top-class quality, having run a personal best of 1:43.58 outdoors last year.
Three world medalists in the women’s 800 m
The women’s 800 m will feature no fewer than three medalists from World Indoor Championships. South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso dominated the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing less than a year ago, winning gold in a new national indoor record of 1:58.40, and she should be a slight favorite. She has already won two Diamond League meetings and is also an Olympic finalist from Paris 2024.
However, she will face strong opposition from the silver medalist of the Nanjing final, Ethiopian Nigist Getachew, who claimed her medal in an excellent time of 1:59.63. Another athlete capable of running well under two minutes indoors is the experienced representative of Benin, Noélie Yarigo. The national record holder won bronze at the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. The stacked field is further strengthened by the 2024 European Indoor silver medalist, Slovakia’s Gabriela Gajanová.
Ethiopians aim to attack Hailu’s meeting record
The women’s 1500 m meeting record has belonged to Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu since 2024, with a time of 4:01.03. This year, however, her compatriots will be eager to challenge that mark. The hottest candidate should be Birke Haylom, holder of five world junior records, who has even broken the four-minute barrier indoors. Her time of 3:58.43 is one of those junior world records. Haylom also confirmed her excellent form last week in Stockholm, where she ran a very fast 4:02.61. Another strong Ethiopian on the start list is Axumawit Embaye, silver medalist at the World Indoor Championships in 2014 and 2022.
Britain’s Innes Fitzgerald returns to Ostrava after a year, having set a European junior record in the 3000 m at last year’s Czech Indoor Gala. She then went on to win two gold medals at the European U20 Championships in Tampere, where she dominated completely. Another returning athlete is Portugal’s Salomé Afonso, who finished second in the 3000 m in Ostrava last year and subsequently enjoyed a very successful European Indoor Championships, winning silver in the 1500 m and bronze in the 3000 m.