by Deji Ogeyingbo
Ingebrigtsen Eyes Historic Triple at Apeldoorn 2025, Alongside Rivals and Rising Stars
Apeldoorn, the Dutch city known for its historic sports venues, will welcome Europe’s top athletes for the European Athletics Indoor Championships from March 6-9, 2025. The competition will be held at Omnisport Apeldoorn, a venue renowned for electrifying performances. This marks the third time the Netherlands has hosted the event, with previous championships held in Rotterdam in 1973 and The Hague in 1989. But this year’s event feels different, with the energy in Apeldoorn higher than ever.
The Netherlands’ home team is full of talent, including indoor world-record holder Femke Bol and the reigning Olympic mixed relay team. However, the athletes in orange won’t be the only ones competing for gold. Three Olympic champions from Paris 2024—Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, and Yemisi Ogunleye—are all expected to shine. The lineup of rising stars and experienced champions promises four days of thrilling action across the track and field.
Men’s Preview
Norwegian dynamo Jakob Ingebrigtsen is gearing up to make history in Apeldoorn. The 24-year-old, a two-time former European Athlete of the Year, will be looking for a third consecutive 1500/3000m double, further solidifying his legacy as one of the continent’s finest. Ingebrigtsen enters the championships in record-breaking form, having recently shattered Yared Nuguse’s indoor mile world record with a time of 3:45.14, alongside breaking his own indoor 1500m world record with a stunning 3:29.63.
A victory in both events would also see him match Soviet sprinter Valeriy Borzov’s all-time European Indoor Championships gold medal record of seven. Ingebrigtsen’s career kicked off with his championship in 2019 when he became the youngest ever male gold medallist in the 3000m. Alongside Ingebrigtsen in the 3000m will be strong challengers like Dutch prodigy Niels Laros, Great Britain’s George Mills, and Ingebrigtsen’s own teammates, including 2023 world 1500m bronze medallist Narve Gilje Nordas. Mills, having recently broken the 7:27.92 mark for a national 3000m record, is one to watch as he enters the championships with serious momentum.
While Ingebrigtsen has been known for his ability to perform back-to-back grueling 1500/5000m doubles in previous championships, he will not have an easy ride in the 3000m, as Laros, who recently set a Dutch record of 7:29.49 in Lievin, is a strong contender. Furthermore, his older brother Filip Ingebrigtsen, the 2016 European outdoor 1500m champion, will also be competing alongside his brother, adding more family rivalry to the event.
In the men’s pole vault, Greek star Emmanouil Karalis will be looking to claim his first major senior title. With Armand Duplantis out of contention, Karalis has been in exceptional form, setting new Greek indoor records (most recently, 6.02 meters) and entering Apeldoorn as a top contender for the podium. In the high jump, Oleh Doroshchuk from Ukraine will be aiming for a high jump double, having set a personal best of 2.32m earlier this year.
In the shot put, Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri, with a world-leading 21.95m mark in Lievin, will be the man to beat, as he seeks to add another continental title to his impressive resume.
In the men’s field events, the spotlight will be on the long jump as Italy’s Mattia Furlani goes head-to-head with Greek star Miltiadis Tentoglou. Furlani, who recently jumped a world-leading 8.37m in Torun, has been in fantastic form and will look to challenge Tentoglou’s unbeaten streak in European Athletics Championships.
Women’s Preview
In the women’s field, the 800m race is wide open with Keely Hodgkinson out due to injury, leaving the door open for a fresh champion to emerge. Anita Horvat, silver medallist in Istanbul 2023, is one of the prime contenders, especially after her victory in Madrid with a season’s best 2:00.35. Additionally, Eliott Crestan of Belgium, who took bronze in 2023, will be looking to push for gold after strong indoor performances this season.
The women’s 1500m will see Hunter Bell as the favourite, coming off a successful 2024 season where she earned Olympic and European medals. Bell is in incredible form, having taken silver in Roma and bronze at the Paris Olympics, and continues to shine in the indoor season, with her victory at the Wanamaker Mile in New York marking her as a top contender in Apeldoorn. Italy’s Marta Zenoni, who broke a 43-year-old Italian 1500m record in January, is another athlete to watch in this event.
Track & Field meet
February 2, 2025
Boston,MA USA, photo by Kevin R. Morris
In the 3000m, Melissa Courtney-Bryant will be looking to build on her two previous bronze medals at the European Indoor Championships. The British middle-distance specialist is in fantastic shape after an impressive 8:28.69 performance in New York, setting the stage for what could be her best European Championships yet. Sarah Healy, Ireland’s European U23 1500m silver medallist, also promises to be a threat, having set an Irish indoor record this season with a time of 8:30.79.
In the women’s field events, the spotlight will be on the long jump as Italy’s Larissa Iapichino goes head-to-head with German star Maleika Mihambo. Mihambo, the German superstar, leaped 7.07 meters at the INIT Karlsruhe Indoor Meeting was held on February 7, 2025 and is the world leader. Fourth on the World list is Larissa Iaphichino, the daughter of two time Olympic silver, two time World gold Fiona May, who also competed for Italy.
Lastly, in the women’s shot put, Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands, the defending European champion, will have the home crowd behind her. With a Dutch indoor record of 20.31m, she is set to provide fierce competition to Yemisi Ogunleye, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion, who has shown impressive form this winter.
With a stellar line-up across both the men’s and women’s events, the Apeldoorn 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships promise to deliver electrifying performances and historic moments.
