Reigning world and European indoor 60m champion Jeremiah Azu continued his excellent start to the season with victory at the ISTAF Indoor in Dusseldorf, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting, on Saturday (24).
Just two days after finishing second to his British teammate Romell Glave in Stockholm in 6.54 - his fastest ever time to start the season - Azu improved to 6.53 for victory ahead of a largely domestic field at the PSD Banke Dome.
Yannick Wolf finished second in a lifetime best of 6.60 with Nigeria’s Fola Olaoye given the same time in third.
Fellow European indoor champion Menno Vloon took a notable victory over former two-time world champion Sam Kendricks from the United States in the pole vault.
Vloon, who won one of the seven gold medals for the Netherlands on home soil at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn last March, was the only vaulter to clear 5.75m. He won by one height from Kendricks who cleared 5.70m before unsuccessful attempts at 5.75m and 5.80m.
Llopis speeds to 7.50 60m hurdles
World and Olympic 110m hurdles fourth-placer Enrique Llopis won a Spanish duel in the 60m hurdles, speeding to victory in 7.50 ahead of 2022 European champion Asier Martinez who was second in 7.59.
After warming up with a 7.57 clocking in his heat, Llopis improved to 7.50 in the final to come within a whisker of the Spanish record of 7.48 which Llopis holds jointly with the now-retired 2016 Olympic 110m hurdles silver medallist Orlando Ortega.
There were contrasting fortunes for Germany’s leading lights in the field events. Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye began her season with victory in the shot put with a second round put of 18.78m which withstood Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd’s third attempt which was measured at 18.71m.
However, reigning European champion Malaika Mihambo had to settle for third in the long jump. Mihambo improved to 6.56m on her final attempt, a mark which proved insufficient to dislodge Romania’s European U23 champion Ramona Verman from the top of the standings.
Verman took the lead in the fourth round with 6.59m to take the victory from Sweden’s Khaddi Sagnia who finished second on countback ahead of Mihambo with 6.56m.
Photo courtesy of Lukas Schulze / organisers