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In the sixth and final episode of European Athletics&rsquo; mini-documentary series My Story, Germany&rsquo;s Malaika Mihambo narrates her journey from fulfilling the vast potential she displayed as a junior to becoming the reigning world and European champion in the long jump.
&ldquo;Maybe I started dreaming about being number one when I was 12 but these were just dreams,&rdquo; remembered Mihambo who took up athletics during summer school when she was a youngster
Mihambo has gone on to dominate the event in the last two seasons but the German candidly admits there were times as a younger athlete when she struggled with self-doubts and fears.
&ldquo;When I was a younger athlete, I was often struggling with myself, that I was also not believing in my potential,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Dealing with all those thoughts and getting to know myself has helped me to become a better athlete.&rdquo;
Mihambo explained how journalising, reflecting and meditating has helped her to fulfil her potential and how meditation played a key part in her winning jump at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha. After two rounds, Mihambo found herself on the cusp of elimination before producing the longest jump of her career so far with her third attempt.
On her winning third round jump, Mihambo said: &ldquo;I just started to meditate and then I just let go of everything in that moment...I was certainly quite happy with the distance of 7.30m!&rdquo;
The episode can be watched in full below.
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Mihambo: “When I was 12 I dreamt of being number one but these were just dreams”

In the fifth episode of European Athletics' mini-documentary series&nbsp;My Story,&nbsp;Croatia's Sandra Perkovic narrates her path from throwing 35 metres to becoming the first athlete in any event to win five European titles in the same event.
Perkovic also remembers some of the key figures who have helped her along the way, including her mother who she described as her biggest supporter. 'She taught me that every year I need to work like it's my last year and I need to give more than one hundred percent,' said Perkovic who also recalled how she surprised her by coming to watch her win her fifth title at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships.
Initially a shot putter in her formative years in the sport, Perkovic soon found her niche in the discus. Her long-time coach Ivan Ivancic, who died in 2014 shortly after Perkovic won her third European title in Zurich, predicted that she would one day become an Olympic champion even when she was only throwing the discus 35 metres.
'Ivan is a very important person in my life...he showed me the way, he gave me his best advice, he gave me power, courage and respect for the others. I'm still using those gifts from him,' said Perkovic.
The episode can be watched in its entirely in the video below.&nbsp;
The sixth episode featuring reigning world and European long jump champion Malaika Mihambo will be published later this month.
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'I want to be remembered as the best female discus athlete ever.' Sandra Perkovic

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Perkovic: “I want to be remembered as the best female discus athlete ever”

Long jumper Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk and hammer thrower Myhaylo Kokhan have been voted Ukrainian Athletes of the Year for 2020.
Despite a turbulent year caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Bekh-Romanchuk and Kokhan both amassed notable summer campaigns. Bekh-Romanchuk won two events on the Diamond League circuit in the long jump and Kokhan, the reigning European U18 and U20 champion, improved his lifetime best in the hammer.
There were three stages to the voting. Fans, experts (the Ukrainian Athletic Association council) and media representatives all had their say, each accounting for one-third of the total vote.
'Back in June, we didn't expect anything special,&rdquo; Bekh-Romanchuk told the Ukrainian Athletic Association. &ldquo;It was said that Diamond Leagues were due to be staged but no one gave a one hundred percent guarantee. Therefore, all spring and half of the summer I trained in a light mode: I exercised once a day, purely to keep fit. It was not until late June-early July that the opportunity to compete became more apparent, but until we boarded the plane, there was no certainty.&rdquo;
Bekh-Romanchuk won five of her eight long jump competitions outdoors in 2020 which was highlighted by Diamond League victories in Stockholm (6.85m) and Doha (6.91m). Bekh-Romanchuk also went unbeaten through the indoor season and set an outright lifetime best of 6.96m at the Copernicus Cup in Torun, the host venue of the European Athletics Indoor Championships in March.
On the men&rsquo;s side, 19-year-old Kokhan topped the voting for the second year in succession. Despite being classified as an U20 in 2020, Kokhan still won five of his eight competitions with the senior implement and extended his lifetime best to 77.78m at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial in Szekesfehervar. He also won the Balkan senior title in Cluj-Napoca and crowned his illustrious junior career with gold at the Balkan U20 Championships.
&ldquo;Fortunately, I had the opportunity to compete in August and September: there were competitions in Ukraine and there were invitations to international tournaments. I also performed at the Balkan U20 and senior championships. But despite all the difficulties, I managed to improve my personal record in Sz&eacute;kesfeh&eacute;rv&aacute;r. We survived this year and are full of motivation for 2021,&rdquo; he said.

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Bekh-Romanchuk and Kokhan voted Ukrainian Athletes of the Year

Jakob Ingebrigtsen took a steady first step towards a 1500m/3000m double at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun as he cruised through his heat on Thursday (4) to qualify in second place for tomorrow evening&rsquo;s final.&nbsp;
The 20-year-old, who earned 3000m gold in Glasgow two years ago but was beaten to gold in the shorter distance by Poland&rsquo;s Marcin Lewandowski, finished in 3:39.89 behind Britain&rsquo;s Neil Gourley, who clocked 3:39.84.&nbsp;
There was a comfortable gap between Ingebrigtsen, who set the European indoor record of 3:31.80 in Lieven last month, and third place, occupied by Jan Fris of the Czech Republic in 3:40.99.&nbsp;
Lewandowski, 33, who spoiled Ingebrigtsen&rsquo;s double plans in Glasgow with a final sprint, looked impressive as he utilised all of his experience to win the final heat in 3:39.78 from Filip Sasinek of the Czech Republic in 3:40.04.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I'm in good shape and Marcin [Lewandowski] is getting older,&rdquo; said Ingebrigtsen. &ldquo;He's nearly twice as old as me! But I remember what happened in Glasgow two years ago so I'm expecting a good fight tomorrow. Today I was just trying to save as much energy as possible.&nbsp;
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Lewandowski, who will also seek a 1500/3000m double, commented: &ldquo;The heats are always about conserving energy, but even more so here, because my plan is to race four times in four days. The race went according to plan. The more even the pace, the more energy you save, and here I managed to run a steady race for the first 1000 metres before accelerating. The many years of indoor and outdoor running experience have taught me how to do this.&rdquo;
The pace of the final heat enabled the third and fourth placers, Paul Robinson of Ireland and Belgium&rsquo;s Stijn Baeten, to earn two of the four fastest non-automatic qualification places with respective times of 3:40.07 and 3:40.40.&nbsp;
While Jakob Ingebrigtsen ticked the qualification box, his elder brother Filip was run out of the qualifying places in the opening heat, finishing fourth in 3:41.52 as Spain&rsquo;s Jesus Gomez finished first in 3:40.75, with home runner Michal Rozmys second in 3:40.92. Filip won the 2016 European outdoor title but the indoor stage hasn't been kind to him, exiting in the heats in 2015, 2017 and 2021 and suffering a disqualification in 2019.&nbsp;
Gomez&rsquo;s teammate Ignacio Fontes won the second heat in 3:38.68, the fastest ever 1500m heat recorded at the European Indoor Championships, from Great Britain&rsquo;s Piers Copeland who clocked 3:38.88.
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Meanwhile in the men&rsquo;s high jump qualifying the two favourites &ndash; Italy&rsquo;s defending champion Gianmarco Tamberi, who leads this year&rsquo;s world lists with 2.35m, and Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus, who has cleared 2.34m this season, were among eight to go through on 2.21m.&nbsp;
Tamberi, ever the showman, was jumping with his normally long black locks dyed white-blond and tied in a top-knot and required just two jumps, clearing at 2.16m and 2.21m. The old deal with the half-shaven beard was a thing of the past. It turned out the new hairstyle was a homage to a Lord of the Rings character.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am not a half-shaved man anymore. I wanted to be like Legolas so I dyed my hair like this. I did it like one week ago just for this championship. I am getting old. I am wiser now - I am just kidding,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Among those joining Nedasekau and Tamberi in Sunday morning&rsquo;s final will be Germany&rsquo;s European outdoor champion Mateusz Przybylko.&nbsp;
Greece&rsquo;s defending long jump champion Miltiadis Tentogolu sailed straight into the final with his first round effort of 8.04m &ndash; four centimetres more than the automatic qualifying mark.&nbsp;
He was soon joined by Sweden&rsquo;s Thobias Montler, who produced the best effort of the evening, a season&rsquo;s best of 8.18m, with his second jump.&nbsp;
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Shot putter Maria Belen Toimil produced a similarly emphatic performance as she added 70 centimetres to the Spanish record, qualifying for the final with 18.64 metres.&nbsp;
She finished third in a powerful roster headed by Germany&rsquo;s Christina Schwanitz &ndash; world champion in 2015, European indoor champion in 2013 and European indoor silver medallist in Glasgow two years ago &ndash; who threw 18.86m.&nbsp;
Aliona Dubitskaya of Belarus was second with a season&rsquo;s best of 18.74m, and fourth in qualifying place went to Portugal&rsquo;s world leader Auriol Dongmo with 18.55m.&nbsp;
Full day one results <a href="https://results.european-athletics.com/irs/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule-date=2021-03-04.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

TORUN, POLAND - MARCH 04: Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway (C) leads his group through their heat when competing in Men's 1500 metres during the European Athletics Indoor Championships at Torun Arena on March 04, 2021 in Torun, Poland. Sporting stadiums around Poland remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for European Athletics)

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Lewandowski and Jakob Ingebrigtsen glide through 1500m heats in Torun but Filip bows out

At a European level, Adam Kszczot has achieved everything. He has won six European 800m titles, three indoors and three outdoors, and will be challenging for a seventh crown this weekend.
And speaking ahead of the Torun 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships at the official pre-event press conference at the Jordanki Cultural and Congress Center, the elder statesman of the Polish team remains as motivated and determined as ever at the age of 31.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I believe this is my eighth time competing at the European Championships,&rdquo; said Kszczot on the eve of the championships. &ldquo;I have a lot of feelings going through my head: pride and happiness but also anticipation and fear because I still care - I am still hungry for success.&rdquo;
Kszczot&rsquo;s event will be one of the strongest of the championships even in the absence of world leader Elliot Giles from Great Britain who is focusing on the outdoor season. The entry-list is still replete with talent including Pierre Ambroise-Bosse from France, who pipped Kszczot for the world outdoor title in 2017, and two-time world outdoor medallist Amel Tuka from Bosnia &amp; Herzegovina.
Casting his mind back on his long and venerable career, Kszczot can seldom recall a championships which has attracted such a wealth of talent in his event.
&ldquo;Throughout the 14 years of my professional career, this is only the second time when the level of competition is so high. The last time was at the 2014 World Indoor Championships,&rdquo; said Kszczot who won a silver medal on that day.
Seven years later and Kszczot is still in the medal discussion. His season&rsquo;s best of 1:45.22 set at the Copernicus Cup in Torun makes him the third fastest on paper behind Sweden&rsquo;s Andreas Kramer (1:45.09) and Great Britain&rsquo;s Jamie Webb (1:44.54) although Kszczot believes anyone ranked inside the top-10 shouldn't be discounted.
Assessing his chances, Kszczot said: &ldquo;On the one hand, my head would wish for me to be one level higher than my competitors - to have some clear advantage over them. On the other hand, after one-year-and-a-half of hard training in this difficult time, I need some tough competition to get back to the highest level.&rdquo;
A rested Lavillenie primed for Duplantis clash in Torun
Kszczot might have taken some succour from the athlete sitting two places to his left - France&rsquo;s Renaud Lavillenie who is almost as good as ever just six months shy of his 35th birthday.
Lavillenie cleared 6.02m at the end of January before ameliorating his season&rsquo;s best with a spectacular 6.06m clearance at the All-Star Perche in Clermont-Ferrand on Saturday, his best clearance in seven years. What does Lavillenie account for his resurgence?
&ldquo;The fact is it is due to covid,&rdquo; said Lavillenie. &ldquo;I had a long break last year and it has helped my body. I have been able to heal every pain in my body and take time to build up slowly from the summer.
&ldquo;I think in the last four years, I hadn&rsquo;t been able to train for more than three weeks without needing a break. Right now, it&rsquo;s been four months without any troubles which has been a big difference and that&rsquo;s why I am over 6.00m again. I just have to be focused on my body and my performance will follow.&rdquo;
On his prospective clash with Armand Duplantis this weekend, Lavillenie said: &ldquo;I think both of us are expecting something really intense. I think for the first time someone could jump six metres here and be just second in the competition which would be amazing.&rdquo;
Swiety-Ersetic and Bol to battle for individual and relay honours
Reigning European 400m champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic has been at the forefront of so many successful Polish teams in recent years and she will be chasing medals in both the individual event and the 4x400m relay in which Poland has reigned supreme on the continental stage in recent years.
&ldquo;Of course for me this is a huge step before the Tokyo Olympics. I am still taking it extremely seriously: I am competing on home turf in Torun. I will try to do my best to be successful. I know there is strong opposition - Femke Bol and the other Dutch girls but definitely my goal is to win. Whether this will come true, we will seem,&rdquo; she said.
On Poland&rsquo;s chances in the relay, Swiety-Ersetic identified the strong Dutch challenge led by Bol and Lieke Klaver but is hopeful the Poles can prevail for the third edition in succession. She said: &ldquo;I know this time we are facing very strong opposition with the Dutch girls but we are hopeful. The line-up of our relay team is slightly different - we have one young athlete so I hope this will also be an advantage for us.&rdquo;
Bol leads the 2021 European list with an outright Dutch record of 50.64 but the reigning European U20 400m hurdles champion isn&rsquo;t making any specific predictions about her chances in the 400m and 4x400m relay.
&ldquo;I am happy with the results I did already this season and Torun is a really fast track - I like it a lot. I can&rsquo;t wait for some good races first individually and then in the relay; I think we are really strong and we can show something there,&rdquo; she said.

TORUN, POLAND - MARCH 04: Adam Kszczot (L) Justyna Swiety-Ersetic (R) during press conference before European Athletics Indoor Championships  on March 4, 2021 in Torun, Poland. (Photo by Pawel Skraba/European Athletics)

Kszczot Press

“Pride, anticipation and fear” for Kszczot on the eve of Torun

With the 36th European Athletics Indoor Championships poised to start in the Polish city of Torun this evening (4), interim European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov has hailed the return to action in spite of the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;
Speaking at a press conference at the Jordanki Cultural and Congress Center shortly before the first qualifying events begin in the Arena Torun, Karamarinov said: &ldquo;These championships will be without spectators. But what is most important is we, as European Athletics, come back on the track. We are here again.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Our last competition was December 2019, the SPAR European Cross Country Championships. That was a really big break. In these challenging, unpredictable times our goal was only one: to get back to the championships again. And we succeed here in Torun. Today we will start again.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Karamarinov said the championships, which run until Sunday (7) and will involve nine athletes who currently top the 2021 world lists, will enjoy around 400 hours of television coverage through the European Broadcasting Union and will be streamed through the European Athletics website.
&ldquo;On behalf of European Athletics it is my pleasure to be with you in Torun, in this wonderful city, as we prepare for the start of the Torun 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships,&rdquo; he announced as he sat alongside Henryk Olszewski, President of the Polish Athletic Federation (PAF), and Michal Zaleski, Mayor of Torun.
Referencing the lack of spectators, Karamarinov commented: &ldquo;We deserve the best atmosphere for our athletes, but we start with this because there is no doubt that safety is the number one priority. We have to be brave, but also we have to be careful.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The championships will be remembered for a long time because we have delivered for a first time European Championships in this situation. It is a good example from European Athletics. We have to deliver our championships and we also have to show to the others the best example of how to do it.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The Polish Athletic Federation have a great experience in organising top quality athletics competitions, and I am fully confident they will rise to the occasion once again.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Olszewski commented: &ldquo;The Polish Athletic Federation has been working very hard with all its partners in preparation for these championships, which I am sure will be a huge success. Our thanks go to the city of Torun for cooperating with us in this immense effort to prepare the venue and championships.&rdquo;&nbsp;
He also highlighted the 2021 European Athletics Team Championships Super League is also scheduled to take place in Poland, with action due to take place in Chorzow on 29-30 May.
Zaleski thanked the Polish government for making the staging of the championships possible.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;To make these championships we have cooperated with the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport, with the Polish Athletic Federation, with the regional authorities and of course with the city of Torun.&nbsp;
&ldquo;These championships offer us a great opportunity to promote our city as a city of sport where there are numerous venues to organise great sporting events.&rdquo;

TORUN, POLAND - MARCH 04: Dobromir Karamarinov during press conference before European Athletics Indoor Championships  on March 4, 2021 in Torun, Poland. (Photo by Pawel Skraba/European Athletics)

Dk Torun

“We are here again!” Karamarinov hails return to championship action in Torun

Serbia&rsquo;s Ivana Spanovic is seeking a record fourth successive long jump title at the Torun 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the elder stateswoman of the event is rounding into form at just the right time.
Continuing her comeback from an injury which forced her to miss the majority of the 2020 season, Spanovic extended her season&rsquo;s best to 6.75m to win at the Balkan Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday (20). 
With Torun 2021 just over a week away, the reigning world indoor champion moves to fourth on the 2021 world indoor list which is led by 18-year-old Larissa Iapichino with 6.91m.
However, the host nation topped the medal table in the Atakoy Arena which will also be staging the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships, the first time Turkey will stage a flagship European Athletics competition.
Turkey won seven gold medals in total as well as four silver and bronze medals each ahead of Ukraine and Bulgaria with four and three gold medals respectively.&nbsp;
Highlights from a Turkish standpoint included Ilyas Canakci, who sprung to fame with his incredible anchor leg in the 4x400m relay final at the 2019 European U20 Championships, winning the individual 400m in 46.91 and Emel Dereli winning the shot put title with 18.13m.
Turkey&rsquo;s rapidly improving pole vaulter Ersu Sasma, 21, cleared 5.60m before three attempts at a national record of 5.80m and European U23 silver medallist Tugba Danismaz won the triple jump with a national record of 13.97m.
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The men&rsquo;s horizontal jumps also provided some of the highlights of the one-day meeting. Reigning European indoor champion Nazim Babayev from Azerbaijan prepared for his title defence with 16.57m in the triple jump and former European indoor champion Izmir Smajlaj from Albania won the long jump with 7.91m by one centimetre from Romania&rsquo;s Gabriel Bitan.&nbsp;
On the track, Romania&rsquo;s former European U18 champion Andrea Miklos broke the 52 second-barrier in the 400m with 51.92 and Slovenian athletes dominated the middle distances. Marusa Mismas won the 1500m in a solo 4:09.43 and her teammate and training partner Klara Lukan, the European U20 5000m champion, won the 3000m in 8:58.73.
In total, 10 Member Federations won gold medals at the Balkan Indoor Championships and 14 Member Federations in totals left Turkey&rsquo;s most populous city with a medal of some description.
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European Athletics Interim President Dobromir Karamarinov, who is also the President of Balkan Athletics, was one of the dignatries on-site in Istanbul. This was the second significant event of the season on the Balkan athletics calendar following on from the Balkan Indoor U20 Championships which were held in Sofia, Bulgaria on 13 February.
Full results from the Balkan Indoor Championships can be found <a href="http://www.balkan-athletics.eu/results.php#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

DUESSELDORF, GERMANY - JANUARY 31: Ivana Spanovic of Serbia competes in Women's Long Jump during the ISTAF Indoor Duesseldorf athletics meeting at ISS Dome on January 31, 2021 in Duesseldorf, Germany. (Photo by Sascha Steinbach - Pool/Getty Images)

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Spanovic bounds out to 6.75m to win Balkan indoor title

Ewa Swoboda is rounding into form at just the right time with her title defence at the Torun 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships less than a fortnight away.
Swoboda won the Polish indoor 60m title on the same track in Torun on Saturday (20) in a season&rsquo;s best of 7.10, just missing her national indoor record and lifetime best by 0.03.
Swoboda moves to second on the 2021 European list behind Dina Asher-Smith with 7.08 but the treble European champion has opted to close down her indoor season prematurely due to a small injury. Her absence will undoubtedly further embellish Swoboda's title chances in Torun.
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European outdoor champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won the 400m title in 52.02 ahead of her 17-year-old compatriot Kornelia Lesiewicz who ran herself onto a place on the individual team for Torun with an outright lifetime best of 52.56.
Karolina Koleczek won a competitive women&rsquo;s 60m hurdles final in 7.96 ahead of teenager Pia Skrzyszowska in 7.98 and Pawel Wiesolek won the heptathlon title with a lifetime best of 6103 points.
Arguably the biggest upset of the weekend came in the 800m final with 400m hurdles specialist Patryk Dobyk upsetting Adam Kszczot - 1:47.12 to 1:47.35. However, normal service was resumed in the 1500m final with Marcin Lewandowski winning in 3:40.14.&nbsp;
Full results <a href="http://hmps.domtel-sport.pl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Fast 60m hurdles finals highlight French Indoor Championships
Wilhem Belocian won the men&rsquo;s 60m hurdles final in 7.46 - just 0.01 shy of his European leading mark - and Laeticia Bapte produced a sensational breakthrough in the women&rsquo;s event, improving her lifetime best to 8.10 in the heats and then 7.93 in the final to edge out Cyrena Samba-Mayela by 0.01.
&ldquo;I still can't believe it, I'm on my little cloud,&rdquo; said Bapte.
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As expected, Lavillenie won the men&rsquo;s pole vault - but not Renaud who only finished third with 5.66m. His younger brother Valentin took the domestic plaudits with a 5.77m clearance ahead of Ethan Cormant with 5.72m.&nbsp;
Benjamin Robert pipped former world champion Pierre-Ambroise Bosse in the 800m final - 1:46.06 to 1:46.13.&nbsp;
Full results <a href="http://direct.athle.fr/asp.net/main.lives/direct.aspx?competition=248953" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Kranz 6.52 and Lederer 7.12 in the 60m finals at the German Indoor Championships
The depth of talent in German sprinting was on full display in the women&rsquo;s 60m final at the German Indoor Championships in Dortmund on Saturday (20) evening.
All eight finalists ran 7.30 or faster with four sprinters either setting or equalling their lifetime bests. Amelie-Sophie Lederer wasn&rsquo;t considered one of the principal favourites for the title but she upset the odds, improving her lifetime best from 7.26 down to 7.20 in the heat and then to 7.12 in the final to move to equal sixth on the German all-time list.
Jennifer Montag and Yasmin Kwadwo both set lifetime bests of 7.19 to finish second and third respectively with Rebekka Haase fourth in 7.20.
Kevin Kranz clocked a lifetime best of 6.55 in the men&rsquo;s 60m heats before powering to victory in the final in a European lead of 6.52 which also equalled the German indoor record held by Julian Reus.
Reigning world and European champion Malaika Mihambo won the long jump title with 6.70m and former world and European champion Christina Schwanitz went out to 18.87m to win the shot put.&nbsp;
Full results <a href="https://www.leichtathletik.de/termine/top-events/hallen-dm-2021-dortmund/live-ergebnisse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Bol improves to 50.64 at the Dutch Indoor Championships
European U20 400m hurdles champion Femke Bol set her fourth Dutch indoor record in as many races this season to win the 400m title at the Dutch Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn.
Less than a week after improving to 50.66 at the Copernicus Cup in Torun, Bol shaved 0.02 off that time with a 50.64 clocking in the 400m final. Her training partner Lieke Klaver, who will form part of a strong Dutch team in the 4x400m relay in Torun next month, was second in a lifetime best to 51.21.
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Liemarvin Bonevacia set a Dutch indoor record and world lead of 45.99 in the men's 400m final and reigning European indoor champion Nadine Visser won the women's 60m hurdles title in 7.90 ahead of 19-year-old Zoe Sedney who broke the eight second-barrier for the first time with 7.98.
Her older sister Naomi won the 60m title in 7.28, edging out Jamile Samuel who was credited with the same time.
2016 European heptathlon champion Anouk Vetter also had a good weekend. She set lifetime bests of 6.42m in the long jump and 8.21 in the 60m hurdles.
Full results <a href="https://www.atletiek.nu/wedstrijd/chronoloog/34431/?utm_source=atletiek.nl&amp;utm_medium=wedstrijddetails&amp;utm_content=processingresults&amp;utm_campaign=uitslagen-details" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Elsewhere around Europe...
Reigning European indoor triple jump champion Ana Peleteiro set a season's best of 14.21m at the Spanish Indoor Championships in Madrid. 19-year-old Maria Vicente won the pentathlon title with a national record of 4501 points.&nbsp;
At the Swiss Indoor Championships in Magglingen, Ajla Del Ponte won the 60m and 200m titles in 7.15 and 23.39 respectively. Silvan Wicki won the men's 60m title in a national record of 6.59 and William Reais also won the 200m in a national record of 20.97.
Merel Maes, who only turned 16 last month, improved to 1.91m in the high jump at the Belgian Indoor Championships in Gent. Fanny Smets cleared a national indoor record of 4.53m in the pole vault and former world U20 bronze medallist Eliott Crestan won the 800m in 1:46.83.
At the Czech Indoor Championships in Ostrava, Vit Muller and Lada Vondrova won the 400m titles in 46.31 and 52.20 respectively. On the day of his 30th birthday, Pavel Maslak dropped down in distance to win the 200m title in 20.84.
Lotta Kemppinen improved her Finnish 60m record to 7.16 at the Finnish Indoor Championships in Jyvaskyla.
At the Swedish Indoor Championships in Malmo, Wictor Petterson won the shot put title with 21.13m. Fanny Roos won the women's shot put title with 18.51m.
Reigning European indoor 60m champion Jan Volko set a big season's best of 6.61 at the Slovakian Indoor Championships in Bratislava.
European U20 long jump bronze medallist Holly Mills set a pentathlon lifetime best of 4557 points in Manchester, one of three selection events for Torun 2021. Sophie McKinna produced another highlight across the three meetings with a lifetime best of 18.54m in the shot put.
At a micro-meeting in Abbotstown, Dublin on Saturday, Mark English set an Irish indoor 800m record of 1:46.10, fending off 18-year-old Cian McPhillips who was also inside the previous record with 1:46.13. Phil Healy won the women's 400m in 51.99.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MARCH 02: 2019 Ewa Swoboda of Poland celebrates after winning the Womens 60m Final during the European Athletics Indoor Championships - Day Two at the Emirates Arena on March 02, 2019 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

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Swoboda improves to 7.10 to win the Polish indoor 60m title in Torun

With two world long jump titles to her credit, Fiona May is rightly considered to be one of the greatest Italian athletes in history but her precocious 18-year-old daughter Larissa Iapichino is already matching the sizeable achievements achieved by her mother.
And Iapichino is on the path to even surpassing them. At the Italian Indoor Championships in Ancona on Saturday (20), the teenager produced an astonishing fifth round jump of 6.91m to equal the national indoor record set by May to win at the 1998 European Indoor Championships in Valencia.
Iapichino equalled May&rsquo;s domestic record and she surpassed the world indoor U20 record held by another doyen of the event, adding three centimetres to Heike Drechsler&rsquo;s mark of 6.88m which dated back to 1983 in terms of antiquity. Drechsler commented on Instagram: &ldquo;That is a very great result! She jumps just like her mom Fiona May.&rdquo;
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With the Torun 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships less than a fortnight away, Iapichino climbs to the top of the 2021 world list and her mark of 6.91m is also a qualifying mark for the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. Like May, Iapichino looks destined to make her Olympic debut as a teenager.
&ldquo;Surreal, a dream, I have no words to describe it. The first thing I thought was: man, I jumped like my mum! Only later did I realise that 6.91m is also the world U20 record and that it is the standard for Tokyo! It will take a while to realise what happened today,&rdquo; Iapichino told FIDAL after the competition.
Reigning European indoor champion Gianmarco Tamberi provided the highlight of the second day of the Italian Indoor Championships by claiming the outright world lead in the high jump with a 2.35m clearance.
Tamberi previously held a share of the world lead after clearing 2.34m at the Copernicus Cup in Torun but while he required third-time attempts at 2.25m and 2.34m midweek, Tamberi delivered a flawless performance in Ancona. He cleared every height between 2.16m and 2.35m on his first attempts before bowing out at a prospective national indoor record of 2.38m.
Tamberi&rsquo;s 2.34m and 2.35m clearances over the last seven days are his best performances since he made his comeback from a potentially career threatening ankle injury on the eve of the Olympic Games in 2016.
He told FIDAL: &ldquo;They were very difficult years and today's performance means that we have closed that parenthesis. I became the athlete I wanted to be after the injury. And I feel I have to take the satisfaction I've been looking for so long.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The European Indoor Championships? I am not satisfied with an Italian Championships which still has great value: the Europeans are a fundamental step that must not be missed on the road to Tokyo.&rdquo;
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There was another significant performance in the heptathlon from 20-year-old Dario Dester who became the first Italian combined eventer in history to surpass the 6000 points-barrier in the heptathlon.
The fifth-placer in the decathlon at the 2019 European U20 Championships, Dester amassed a score of 6076 points which also guarantees him a place in the heptathlon at the European Indoor Championships.
Runner-up Simone Cairoli finished second with 5986 points which also eclipsed the previous Italian record held by William Frullani with 5972 points.
Dester also gave credit to Cairoli for helping him to achieve the record. &ldquo;They were two unforgettable days. Simone and I fought point by point, event after event. It was spectacular and we enjoyed it, and we hope we have made all the Italians appreciate the combined events.&rdquo;
Full results <a href="http://www.fidal.it/risultati/2021/COD8651/RESULTSBYEVENT1.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

ANCONA, ITALY - FEBRUARY 20: Larissa Iapichino poses after winning in women's long jump during the Italian Indoor Track and Field Championships 2021 on February 20, 2021 in Ancona, Italy. With 6,91 metres she sets a new Indoor Under 20 World Record. (Photo by Marco Mantovani/Getty Images)

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Iapichino 6.91m and Tamberi 2.35m at the Italian Indoor Championships

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Despite an enforced absence from the competition calendar during 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Dynamic New Athletics returned to the spotlight in Spain on Saturday (30).
The national indoor inter-clubs meeting in Valencia was the first time the DNA had taken place undercover, with the Spanish athletics federation demonstrating the flexibility of the format by adapting the timetable to embrace the principal concepts of DNA.
<ul>
<li>A team-based competition combining male and female athletes.</li>
<li>A short and compact setting, both in terms of venue and time.</li>
<li>An easy-to-understand format which was exciting and unpredictable right the way through to the end of the very last event.</li>
<li>A linear competition, which means just one event happening at a time.</li>
<li>Head-to-head competition prioritised over sheer performance i.e. time, height and distance.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;The Playas de Castell&oacute;n club &ndash; one of Spain&rsquo;s leading clubs in recent years &ndash; ran out winners in the senior contest and clinched their victory in the Luis Puig Velodrome &ndash; the venue for the 1998 European Athletics Championships and the World Athletics Indoor Championships a decade later &ndash; after a dominating performance in the final event, The Hunt.
After going into The Hunt, a mixed medley relay, with a lead of just four points &ndash; which translated into an advantage of 1.33 seconds &ndash; Playas finished more than three seconds ahead of their nearest rivals, thanks in no small part to a devasting four laps of the track by their locally-based Burundi international Eric Nzikwinkunda.
&ldquo;Wow, what an exciting new format. I had lots of fun. I think we all did. The new rules, especially in the field events, are a great innovation,&rdquo; commented the Playas captain Carmen Ramos, the Spanish international heptathlete giving DNA her team&rsquo;s seal of approval after receiving a winner&rsquo;s cheque for &euro;1500.
Both the senior and U18 competitions saw a mix of events that combined three traditional track races &ndash; men&rsquo;s 60m, women&rsquo;s 400m and 60m hurdles in the senior competition &ndash; with three field events held under special DNA head-to-head rules which first saw the light of day at the 2019 European Games in Minsk: the men&rsquo;s long jump and shot put, and women&rsquo;s high jump.
The six events delivered points for positions and, in turn, this total and the difference between the six participating teams was transformed into a time advantage for The Hunt, which in Valencia was a women&rsquo;s 1000m followed by a men&rsquo;s 800m, women&rsquo;s 600m and finally a men&rsquo;s 400m.
Given the prevailing situation with Covid in Spain, the Valencia competition was held under the strictest sanitary conditions, sadly without any spectators and with all athletes and other personal taking quick Covid antigen tests before being allowed the enter the main part of the stadium.&nbsp;
The use of masks was mandatory throughout the day except when competing and there were extended protocols for cleaning, disinfection and hygiene with the competition equipment and the arena as a whole.
Nevertheless, the competition was a resounding success and showed that DNA can be adapted to all environments, and surmount even the challenges of the current pandemic.
&ldquo;I saw how the competition worked in Minsk and I was very enthusiastic about bringing it to Spain and could see the possibilities of how it could work indoors. Even in this situation, we had an exciting competition and I can&rsquo;t wait for us to stage DNA competitions when we can have spectators int he stadium and watch the energy levels rise,&rdquo; commented the Spanish athletics federation President and European Athletics Council member Raul Chapado.
Earlier on Saturday, Alcampo Scorpio 71 from Zaragoza won a mixed U20/U18/U16 competition using the same format. Starting The Hunt just five points in front of Playas &ndash; 1.66 seconds &ndash; the Scopio 71 medley relay quartet never gave their opponents a chance of reeling them in and ran out winners by more than six seconds.
This competition showed off the talents of some of Spain&rsquo;s top teenagers, several of whom can look forward to competing at the European Athletics U18 and U20 Championships this summer, but a special mention should be made of one athlete who might have to wait a few years before competing on the international stage, 13-year-old Anastasia Lopez who sped to a 60m win in a personal best 7.83 and beat sprinters up to two years older than herself.
Full results here <a href='https://resultados.rfea.es/2021/pistacubierta/pc_DNAabsoluto.pdf' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>(senior)</a> &amp; <a href='https://resultados.rfea.es/2021/pistacubierta/pc_DNApromocion.pdf' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>(U20/U18/U16)</a>

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DNA makes its indoor debut in Valencia

The European Athletics High Performance Webinar series has been extended through until mid-June to ensure learning can continue and ideas can still be shared in spite of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The series recommences on Friday 8 January with a lecture entitled &lsquo;Rebuilding stronger - lessons learned from the pandemic&rsquo; which will be given by Swiss international hammer thrower Martin Bingisser.
This is one of three one hour-long lectures which will be given in January, and one of 13 which are due to take place across the next six months. To register for the High Performance Webinar series, please click on <a href='https://register.event-works.com/ea/ea_HPWS_2021/e/cp/' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>this link</a> and follow the instructions.
The High Performance Webinar series is aimed predominantly at coaches, sport scientists and other medical staff such as doctors and physios as well as athletes. The full schedule can be found <a href='https://twitter.com/hannengland/status/1346892199720574977' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>here</a>.&nbsp;
Further details on the European Athletics High Performance Webinar series can be obtained from the European Athletics Development Department at development@european-athletics.org.
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European Athletics High Performance Webinar series to recommence on Friday

The track for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Barcelona 1995, provided by the European Athletics Preferred Supplier Mondo, is being installed once again in the Catalan City&rsquo;s famous Palau Sant Jordi.
Work started on Monday this week (28) to re-install the track after an absence of nearly 25 years, which was noted at the time back in the mid-1990s for its innovative red, yellow and blue colour scheme.
The first indoor athletics competition at the Palau Sant Jordi for more than 25 years is scheduled for weekend of 16 and 17 January.
After the 1995 World Athletics Indoor Championships, the hydraulic banked track, which was among the first in Europe, was moved about 30 kilometres to nearby Vilafranca del Penedes where it staged more than 10 indoor meetings a year between 1996 to 2010 including a number of national championships.
The track has been based in the neighbouring city of Sabadell for the last decade but with the Sant Oleguer indoor arena there being used as a temporary hospital during the coronavirus pandemic, an agreement was reached recently between the Barcelona City Council and the Catalan Athletics Federation for the much-travelled track to return to where is first saw top class competition.
The Palau Sant Jordi was the main indoor arena during the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, where is staged the artistic gymnastics competitions as well as volleyball and handball matches. In more recent times, the Palau has become one of Spain&rsquo;s major venues for large scale concerts but with such events currently not taking place due to the pandemic, it was time for the six-lane track (with an eight-lane straight in the middle) to &lsquo;come home&rsquo; to ensure the region can continue to stage international indoor meetings like those that have taken place in Sabadell on the same track in recent years.
The hydraulic track, <a href='https://www.mondoworldwide.com/emea/en/sport/track-and-field/'>which Mondo developed and introduced to the market in 1988, </a>features two curved sections that can be banked to enable runners to maintain their top speeds going into turns. The hydraulic system can raise and lower the running surface in a just a few minutes.
Europe provided 13 of the 27 winners in Barcelona in 1995 &ndash; the women&rsquo;s pole vault wasn&rsquo;t yet contested at major international championships &ndash; with the highlight being the women&rsquo;s triple jump world indoor record of 15.03m by Russia&rsquo;s Yolanda Chen, the first women to break the 15-metre barrier indoors.
Other notable performances included Ukraine&rsquo;s Sergey Bubka adding to his incredible list of major international titles with his fourth world indoor pole vault gold medal, clearing 5.90m, and Germany&rsquo;s Alina Astafei winning the high jump title with 2.01m and Romanian teenager Gabriela Szabo winning her first major international senior title &ndash; with many more to come in an illustrious career &ndash; when she kicked to victory off the final turn of the 3000m to win in 8:54.50.
Mondo have provided the competition surface for 13 of the 17 World Athletics Indoor Championships to date as well as 13 of the last 16 European Athletics Indoor Championships since 1988. They will also be providing the tracks for the next two events as well: in Torun, Poland on 5-7 March 2021 and Istanbul, Turkey on 2-5 March 2023.

1994:  Yolanda Chen prepares to compete in a triple jump event during the IAAF Mobil Stockholm Grand Prix in Stockholm, Sweden. Mandatory Credit: Gray Mortimore  /Allsport

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Mondo's 1995 world indoor championships track finally returns home

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Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 110,000 employees and an annual revenue of approximately €12 billion. It is the European number one in cybersecurity, cloud and high performance computing, and the group provides tailored end-to-end solutions for all industries in 73 countries. A pioneer in decarbonisation services and products, Atos is committed to a secure and decarbonised digital environment for its clients. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), and listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.

Atos is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic and  Paralympic Games. It is also the Timing-Scoring, Results and Operations provider of European Athletics events since 2017, and European Athletics Official Digital Partner for their new digital platform (web and mobile).


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Mondo has designed and produced prefabricated athletics tracks since 1948 and has been a European Athletics partner since 1988. They have combined their skills in the pursuit of a shared goal: to support the growth of athletics with passion and innovation. Mondo’s athletics surfaces offer uniform dynamic response and complete control over stride, rhythm, and balance for every athlete. The advantages of Mondo’s prefabricated track surfaces include optimal performance for athletes regardless of climate and environmental conditions. Mondo operates a careful selection of its raw materials for its track surfaces and constant production as we care about athletes’ health. Mondo products have passed UL Environment Tests for more than 10,000 volatile chemical agents and have attained GREENGUARD Gold certification.

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