by Larry Eder
These are my observations on day 2 of the European Indoor Championships 2025, held in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, at Omnisport Apeldoorn.
The European Indoor Athletics Championships are always a lot of fun. I have visited Bercy 2011, Goteborg 20213, Praha 20215, and Belgrade 2017. This is my fifth European Indoor. You get to watch some great track and field, and European Athletics picks metro areas with culture, food, friendly people, wonderful arenas, and local governments that believe in the event. It shows. Here are some observations!
- The men’s 800 meters is like roller derby indoors. Impressive were Elliott Crestan, BEL, Elven Canales, ESP, who ran an NR 1:44.65 in January and is also a European leader, and GBR’s Justin Davies, the only Brit to move on.
- On the women’s 800m, none of Team GB moved on. Without Jemme Reekie and Keely Hodgkinson, GB has some inexperienced 800-meter runners. Impressive were Lore Hoffman, GER, Anita Horvat, HUN, (who both actually raced), Evalina Määttänen, FIN, Audrey Werro, W SUI (very impressive), and Angelika Sarna.
- The triple jump is in a quiet time now. Italy has two fine TJers, Andrea Dallavalle and Andy Diaz Hernandez. I’m unsure who else will challenge; perhaps Tiego Perrera, POR. Oh, my spoiler will be
- The pole vault qualifying for men, Thibault Collet, FRA, Emmanuel Karalis, GRE, and Menno Vloon, NED, all had 3 first attempt clearances through 5.75m. Valters Kreišs, LAT, Baptiste Theirry, FRA, and Oleg Zernikel also got over 5.75m, with a miss. Renaud Lavillenie, FRA, Ben Broeders, BEL, Sondre Gottormsen, NOR, Bo Kanda Lita Baehre, and GER made the cut by clearing 5.65m. Piotr Lisek, POL, just missed.
Pole vault qualifying, photo by Star Gazer Photos/Kathy Camara - Mattia Furlani, ITA, had a challenging day. First, he fouled and just did not seem to be all there. Foul, 8.10m, foul, foul, 8.12m, 8.09m, . Lester Lescay of ESP led at 8.12m, but Furlani had a better series. Then, on the very last jump, Bulgarian
Bozhidar Sarâboyukov, who opened at 7.88m, improved to 7.94m and then leapt 8.13 m to take the gold!
- The women’s 1,500 meters was a huge upset. Georgia Hunter-Bell, GBR, ran listlessly and did not dominate like an Olympic bronze medalist should. Agathe Guillemot, FRA, went for the win, with Salome Afonos, POR, taking silver. Revee Walcott Nolan, GBR, went by Georgia Hunter-Bell. Afterwards, social media noted that Hunter-Bell had an ear infection.
Agathe Guillemot, FRA, photo by European Athletics - Jakob Ingebrigtsen just ran to win. Hitting the 400m in 60, the 800m in 2:00, the Norwegian superstar took 1:36 to run the last 700m (about 1:51 last 800), with the previous 400m in a controlled 52-53. Azeddine Habz, FRA, took the silver, and Isaac Nader, POR, took the bronze. Neil Gourley, GBR, told the media that he let them get away, finishing 4th.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins numero 3 at 1,500m! Apeldoorn2025, photo by European Athletics - In the 60-meter hurdles, Ditaji Kambundji, SUI, made her dream a reality, taking gold in a European record 7.67! Nadine Viser, NED, delighted the crowd with her 7.72 NR, and Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska took bronze in 7.83.
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Jakub Szymanski, POL, cemented the notion that he is the top hurdler in Europe with his 7.43 gold here. Jakub had run 7.39 earlier in the season. Wilhelm Belocian, FRA was silver in 7.45 and Just Kwaou-Mathey was bronze in 7.50!
- The 400 meters were problematic. Amber Anning, GBR, who should have challenged Lieke Klaver, NED, for the title, was disqualified in the first round for running outside her lane. Oscar Husillos, ESP, who was Dqed in the 2018 World Indoor, should have been here.
- It was great seeing all of my media friends in Apeldoorn. The volunteers are so helpful. Thank God for the coffee stand!
