This weekend (27 February-1 March) sees most European countries staging their national indoor championships with big stars including Ditaji Kambundji, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Leonardo Fabbri, Natalia Bukowiecka, Malaika Mihambo, Emmanouil Karalis, Zaynab Dosso and Jessica Schilder among those due to compete.
And with qualifying for the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Kujawy-Pomorze from 20-22 March due to close on 8 March, this weekend serves as one of the final opportunities for athletes to chase qualifying standards and impress the selectors ahead of the focal point of the indoor season.
Polish Indoor Championships, Torun | Bukowiecka, Szymanski, Skrzyszowska, Zodzik
The Polish Indoor Championships will serve as a final dress rehearsal for the World Athletics Indoor Championships which takes place on this very track next month.
European 400m champion Natalia Bukowiecka will be making a rare indoor appearance in her specialist event while fast times beckon for reigning European indoor champion Jakub Szymanski and 2022 European 100m hurdles champion Pia Skrzyszowska in the 60m hurdles.
Ewa Swoboda, who ran a big season's best of 7.09 at the Copernicus Cup in Torun on Sunday, is seeking her 10th national indoor 60m title while last year's world silver medallist Maria Zodzik will be aiming to match her recently-set indoor lifetime best of 1.98m in the high jump.
Italian Indoor Championships, Ancona | Fabbri, Dosso, Iapichino, Diaz
The Italian Indoor Championships will be star-studded both on the track and field with European and world medallists Leonardo Fabbri, Zaynab Dosso, Larissa Iapichino and Andy Diaz headlining the action.
Fabbri, who holds the world lead with 22.50m, will be looking to continue his excellent run of form in the shot put ahead of the World Athletics Indoor Championships.
Dosso, fresh from becoming just the fifth European woman to run sub seven seconds over 60m, will be in search of her fourth indoor title over that distance although the reigning European indoor champion will share the spotlight with one of Europe’s most exciting young talents: 16-year-old Kelly Doualla, the reigning European U20 100m and 4x100m champion.
Reigning European indoor champion Larissa Iapichino is the resounding favourite in the women's long jump while one of the clashes of the weekend could be the men's triple jump featuring world indoor champion Diaz against surprise world silver medallist Andrea Dallavalle.
Other notable athletes to watch out for include reigning European champions Antonella Palmisano (3000m race walk) and Lorenzo Simonelli (60m hurdles) although Mattia Furlani will not be competing due to having been suffering with the flu.
German Indoor Championships, Dortmund | Mihambo and Ogunleye
Germany’s female field eventers will be taking the spotlight in Dortmund as two-time world and European champion Malaika Mihambo continues her indoor season while Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye looks to break 20 metres for the first time in 2026.
Spanish Indoor Championships, Valencia | Bestue, Attaoui, Llopis
One year before the European Athletics Indoor Championships, Valencia is set to welcome Spain's top athletes with European record-holder Mohamed Attaoui, Jaël Bestue, and Enrique Llopis all bidding for more national titles.
European 800m silver medallist Attaoui will be heading into the championships with his eyes on the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March where he will hope to earn his first world medal having recently broken the European indoor 1000m record with 2:14.52.
Bestue, who memorably won the 200m at the European Athletics Team Championships in Madrid last year in a Spanish record, continues her indoor campaign in the 60m while Llopis will be looking to work towards his revenge in Kujawy Pomorze having played fourth in three major global championships, including last year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
French Indoor Championships, Auvergne | Habz, Guillemot, Bonnin
At the French Indoor Championships, reigning European indoor champion Agathe Guillemot is the commanding favourite for the 1500m. She has already set four French indoor records this year, including two at this distance.
Azeddine Habz will be embarking on an ambitious 1500/3000m double while reigning world indoor pole vault champion Marie-Julie Bonnin competes fresh from setting an outright French record of 4.76m but the clash of the weekend could be the men's 60m hurdles featuring Wilhem Belocian and Just Kwaou-Mathey.
Dutch Indoor Championships, Apeldoorn | Chapple, Klaver, Vloon, Schilder
Samuel Chapple, Menno Vloon, Lieke Klaver and Jessica Schilder, all of whom won gold on home soil at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships, will be taking centre stage in Apeldoorn.
Schilder, the reigning world and European champion, will be looking to add a seventh national indoor title to her name, alongside extending her world lead which currently stands at 20.49m.
Swiss Indoor Championships, St Gallen | Kambundji, Werro, Ehammer
Ditaji Kambundji competes on home soil for the first time since winning the 100m hurdles title at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo last September.
In-form Audrey Werro is another high profile athletes in action in the 800m while Simon Ehammer focuses on individual events, the 60m hurdles, long jump and shot put, on the path to the heptathlon at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.
Swedish Indoor Championships, Stockholm | Petersson, Montler, Roos, Bengtström
The Swedish Indoor Championships will be taking place in Stockholm as Fanny Roos looks to continue her journey to the World Athletics Indoor Championships where she will be looking to upgrade her two prior fourth-place finishes.
European indoor silver medallist Wictor Petersson is the standout name in the men's shot put while multiple major medallist Thobias Montler competes in the men's long jump.
Carl Bengtström will be chasing his ninth title in the 400m and looking to break 46 seconds indoors for the first time since 2023 when he won bronze at the Istanbul 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
Czech Indoor Championships, Ostrava | Stefela, Manuel, Manasova
World bronze medallist Jan Stefela will be competing at the Czech Indoor Championships fresh from clearing 2.32m in Banska Bystrica, just one centimetre short of his PB.
World U20 400m champion Lourdes Gloria Manuel will be dropping down in distance to the 200m as will 18-year-old phenomenon Tomas Horak who smashed the European indoor U20 record of 45.64 on this track last week.
Other top names in action include European U23 100m champion Karolina Manasova, who has lowered the Czech indoor record to 7.05 this year, and 2023 European indoor bronze medallist Amalie Svabikova who has already cleared 4.76m in the pole vault this year.
Elsewhere around Europe...
The focus of attention will be on the high jump at the Ukrainian Indoor Championships in Kyiv. World record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh faces an all-star line-up which also features Yuliia Levchenko and Olympic bronze medallist Iryna Herashchenko who continues her comeback from maternity leave.
Reigning European indoor champion Oleh Doroshchuk faces strong domestic opposition from 2024 European silver medallist Vladyslav Lavskyy and European indoor finalist Dmitry Nikitin in the men's high jump.
Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou and European indoor champion Emmanouil Karalis are the headlining acts at the Greek Indoor Championships in Athens. Karalis cleared 6.01m last year, his first ever six metre-plus vault indoors.
World leader and reigning European indoor champion Bozhidar Saraboyukov will be in action at the Bulgarian Indoor Championships in Sofia. Saraboyukov has already surpassed the 8.40m-barrier twice in the long jump this year. What can he produce this weekend?
World heptathlon silver medallist Kate O'Connor will be focusing on individual events at the Irish Indoor Championships in Dublin. O'Connor is due to compete in both the 60m hurdles and long jump. In the sprint hurdles she will face European indoor and outdoor finalist Sarah Lavin who is targeting her fifth successive 60m hurdles title.
2023 world 1500m bronze medallist Narve Gilje Nordas makes his season's debut at the Norwegian Indoor Championships in Bergen. Nordas is due to compete in the 3000m.