Czechia’s Tomas Horak decimated the European indoor U20 400m record in Ostrava on Sunday (22), taking more than half-a-second off the previous mark.
The 17-year-old won the 400m final at the Czech Indoor U20 Championships in 45.64 to shatter the previous record of 46.16 set by Great Britain’s Edward Faulds in 2022. His time was also faster than the unratified mark of 45.96 set by Russia’s Serafim Solodovnikov in 2024.
Horak, who was part of Czechia’s gold medal-winning team in the 4x400m at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere last year, has been approaching the record all season. He has clocked 46.31 and 46.36 respectively in his two prior races before smashing the record on his third attempt.
"I started slower with a 22 second first lap but I had enough power for the second lap and a big finish. It’s a great feeling to be a European record-holder. Next week at the Czech Championships I will run the 200m and then the World Indoors," said Horak.
Horak also moves to second on the Czech indoor all-time list. The only Czech who has run faster indoors is the now-retired Pavel Maslak who won three successive European and world indoor 400m titles between 2012-18.
And by virtue of a 2008 date-of-birth, Horak will also be eligible for the 2027 European Athletics U20 Championships which will be held in Bydgoszcz.
Photo from Czech Athletic Federation / Ondrej Plechacek