by Alfonz Juck
Muller Glasgow 2020, photo by British Athletics
I hope the 2021 World Indoor Tour happens, but we will just have to wait. The idea that Nanjing could happen, without a vaccine, boggles my mind. I know that WA must just plan ahead like nothing has happened, but it has.
WORLD INDOOR TOUR NEWS
KARLSRUHE (GER): First meet of 5th World Indoor Tour series Karlsruhe in Germany confirmed their events for January 29. From the tour events, they will stage men´s 400 m, 60 m hurdles and long jump and from women´s 60 m, 3000 m, triple jump and shot put. Each athlete’s best three results will count towards their overall point score. The athlete with the most points in each scoring discipline at the end of the tour will be declared the winner and will be awarded a USD 10,000 bonus (decline from previous 20 000) along with a wild card entry for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22.
Nanjing 2021, photo by Nanjing LOC
NANJING (CHN): Wild Card holders for World Indoor Championships in Nanjing (postponed to March 2021) were set in last two seasons. Several of the top countries will so have the options to have 3 athletes in one event, like USA in men 60 m (Ronnie Baker WC holder), 60 m hurdles men (Jarret Eaton) and women (Christina Clemons) with men´s 400 m (Nathan Strother). Also Ethiopia as the country has 5 WC holders, Samuel Tefera (1500 m) and Getnet Wale (3000 m) among men and Habitam Alemu (800 m), Gudaf Tsegay (1500 m) and Alemaz Samuel (3000 m) in women events. Kenya has only one card by Collins Kipruto in the 800 m. Sweden will have the option in pole vault as Mondo Duplantis has the WC. But Poland two with Ewa Swoboda in the 60 m and mainly Justyna Swiety-Ersetic in the 400 m. Two events also for Ukraine to have potentially 3 athletes at World indoors in high jump (Yaroslava Mahuchikh) and long jump (Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk). Cuba has the same situation in men´ s long jump with Juan Miguel Echevarria. Remaining card holders are Naoto Tobe from Japan in high jump, Hugues Fabrice Zango from Burkina Faso and Yulimar Rojas from Venezuela in triple jump, also Croatian Filip Mihaljevic with German Christina Schwanitz in shot put. Special case is women pole vault WC holder, Russian Anzhelika Sidorova, she also needs the permission to compete as neutral athlete. It should be noted that the wild card is connected to the name so is not transferable and also the potentially other two athletes from the same country must have the necessary standard.
