The heptathlon produced a European clean sweep at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing with Sander Skotheim emerging as the champion, amassing a score of 6475 points to secure the gold medal.
This victory came shortly after his European indoor title in Apeldoorn, hinting at a strong year to come for Skotheim who has also twice broken the European record this winter. "Now moving outdoors, I want to show that I'm back in the decathlon as well," said Skotheim, the silver medallist outdoors at the 2024 European Athletics Championships.
Estonia's Johannes Erm also delivered an excellent performance, claiming silver with a national record of 6437 points just two weeks after finishing fourth at the European Athletics Indoor Championships. "Almost all of the events were superb, everything other than the high jump I was really happy with," he said.
Germany's Till Steinforth completed the podium, claiming bronze with 6275 points to match his performance from Apeldoorn. "I feel like I actually have already exceeded my goal, I didn't expect to do those two medals. I'm really happy with what I have done already and looking forward to what else that I can show.”
Skotheim in command from the second event onwards
Steinforth initiated the event with a swift 6.82 in the 60 meters, positioning himself as an early leader. However, Skotheim's impressive 8.00m leap in the long jump propelled him into the lead, a position he maintained throughout the competition.
In the shot put, Erm's throw of 15.27m advanced him to second place, while Skotheim's 14.68m effort preserved his lead. The high jump saw both Skotheim and USA's Heath Baldwin clear 2.13m, reinforcing their standings.
Day two commenced with Steinforth clocking 7.85 in the 60m hurdles, reclaiming third place. Erm's 5.30m clearance in the pole vault narrowed the gap to Skotheim, who vaulted 5.00m. The competition culminated in the 1000 meters, where Skotheim's time of 2:36.08 secured the title.
The camaraderie among the multi-event athletes was evident throughout the competition. Erm shared that he and Skotheim had a friendly wager on the 1000m.
"We (with Skotheim) bet a Coca-Cola for who wins the 1000m. I really wanted that. It's the smallest bets that really get me going." Skotheim reflected on the outcome, noting, "(On his bet with Johannes Erm): I won the competition, he won the bet, so I guess we're both pretty happy. It's just fun and games," said Erm, the 2024 European decathlon champion.
This was the first time European multi-eventers have taken a clean sweep in the heptathlon at the World Athletics Indoor Championships since 2001 when Czech great Roman Sebrle won his first of two global indoor titles.