by Larry Eder
The World Indoors in Nanjing, China, has finally happened. Remember, it was supposed to be in March 2020 but was postponed twice. Many thought it would never happen. But finally, March 21-23, 2025, Nanjing is hosting the World Athletic Indoors. Here are five observations:
- The first session on Friday opened with the pentathlon. A strong crowd, many seemingly sport fans who wanted to see Chinese athletes, but the crowd is supportive of athletes from around the world. The facility, per our contacts, was quite warm and the warm up track was bathed in sun and 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit. A good mix of rounds of the 400m, 800m, and 60 meters.
- The host has a strong track and field tradition. Dating back to 1975, the US State Department assisted China in building a track and field program, and a meet in May 1975 with Dick Buerkle, among other athletes competing against the Chinese. One of the great stories of global sports over the past five decades is the global strength of Chinese sports, and that was obvious with at least one strong Chinese athletes competing in nearly every event in the World Indoors.
- The Triple Jump for Men, and it was quite curious, showcasing the globalness of our sport, but also, some of our challenges. Andy Diaz Hernandez, originally from Cuba, Andy Diaz Hernandez is now competing for Italy. The Italian star leaped 17.80m and took the lead early! Yaming Zhu, of China, gave China its first medal, in the first event at Nanjing 2025. Zhu jumped well, in 17.33m. Originally the bronze medal was for Almir Dos Santos, but the Brazilian was Dqed, due to using illegal track spikes (shoes not approved by World Athletics, and there is a list). Hugues Fabrice Zango, of Burkina Faso, defending champ, hit 17.15m on his last jump, was originally fourth. After Dos Santos was Dqed, Zango was given the bronze medal.
- Strong 400 meters on both men’s and women’s sides are exciting. The bumping and close races with 2 moving on to next round, or 3 make for tough racing and the fans love it!
- The broadcast, note we are covering the event remotely, is superb. Hannan England, Robert Walker are two of the key emcees on the global feed. The broadcast is superb. World Athletics provides remote media flashquotes, photos, review of events and European broadcasting provides interviews via audio. Stuart Weir is in Oxford, England, Larry Eder in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, USA, Deji Ogeyingbo is in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and Justin Lagat is in Iten, Kenya. EME news is done by Alfons Juck and his team on site. World Athletics photos, by Dan Vernon and Sona Maleterova are superb!
- The pentathlon had real interest for the fans. The Women’s shot put had Gong Li Jao, who has competed for China since winning medals in Beijing 2008! The Men’s high jump showcased global sports: Sangheok Wu of South Korea in gold, defending champ Hamish Kerr of New Zealand in silver, and Jerome Raymond of Jamaica in bronze. And then, the Men’s 60 meters, with Jeremiah Azu, GBR in gold, Lachlan Kennedy, AUS, who does not race indoors at all, takes silver and Super Vet Akani Simbine, RSA, who, after six global finals, takes a medal with the bronze! As the adidas ad says, Impossible is Nothing!
