The Sparkassen Indoor Meeting Dortmund, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze meeting, on Sunday (8) wasn’t short of drama with Norway’s Hakon Moe Berg storming to a meeting record in the 1500m and Poland's Ewa Swoboda taking a hard fought victory in the women’s 60m.
Swoboda, who will be targeting the World Athletics Indoor Championships on home soil in Kujawy Pomorze next month, took the win in her season’s opener with 7.24 with her typical great start in the final, but she wasn’t able to place a gap between her and the rest of the field.
Great Britain’s young star Mabel Akande challenged Swoboda in the final, placing second in 7.25, while Germany’s Rebekka Haase clocked 7.27 for third.
Hungarian record-holder Boglarka Takacs, who defeated Swoboda in the 100m at the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships in Madrid, was unable to make it through the heats where she clocked 7.42.
Poland’s Oliwer Wdowik provided the first part of a Polish double in the 60m, winning in a meeting record of 6.55 for his second personal best of the season already.
He took the win in the final moments ahead of Hungary’s Dominik Illovszky in 6.56 and fellow Pole Dominik Kopec in 6.57 in a race that all changed in the closing 10 metres. Kopec had appeared to get the best start and seemed destined for the win until he slightly faded and allowed his countryman and Illovszky to come through and finish in front.
Moe Berg continues 1500m domination
Hakon Moe Berg smashed the meeting record previously held by world champion Isaac Nader by over two seconds and broke his indoor personal best by storming to 3:34.02 that saw him dominate from gun-to-tape.
The double European U20 champion had set the world leading time with 3:34.32 for victory in Stockholm in January before 19-year-old Australian Cameron Myers took it with 3:32.78 on 1 February.
Germany’s Marius Probst took a distant second in 3:38.42 as he led the rest of the field over the line behind the dominant young Norwegian. Belgium’s Elliot Vermeulen, who won bronze behind Moe Berg in the 1500m at the European Athletics U20 Championships, finished third in 3:39.48.
Poland’s Maciej Wyderka took the win and set another meeting record in the 800m with 1:45.81. He held off a fight from Germany’s Malik Skupin-Alfa who finished close behind in a lifetime best of 1:45.95.
In the women’s 800m, Lena Kandissounon took the win in 2:02.34, despite a surge up the inside on the final lap from Tanja Spill who did have to settle back for second in 2:03.34.
Czykier wins an eventful men's 60m hurdles
The men’s 60m hurdles was not short of drama in the heats and final. Damien Czykier was initially given a red card in the heat for a false start but ran under protest and clocked 7.68 for second after getting stunned in the blocks.
He was initially noted as disqualified but still made it through to the final where Czechia’s Jonas Kolomaznik, who ran the fastest time in qualifying, was also shown a red card for a false start and chose to run under protest.
Czykier went on to equal the meeting record of 7.58, with Elmo Lakka in second with 7.56 and Ronan Greff in third with 7.67 while Kolomaznik was subsequently disqualified.
In the 400m, Jean Paul Bredau held off relay world and European indoor medallist Jonathan Sacoor to take the win with another meet record of 46.00 in his second competition of the year.
Sacoor finished in second with 46.48 after attempting a pass on the German in the back straight of the final lap but having to fall back behind as they mounted the bend, leaving his tank empty as they came down the final 50 metres.
European U20 200m silver medallist Pedro Afonso took the win in the second 400m and overall third with 46.49 in his first race over this distance indoors.
Otchere equals eight-year-old PB in the pole vault
In the women’s pole vault, Germany's Jacqueline Otchere took a dominant win, setting a meeting record of 4.60m with no failures in the whole competition to equal her lifetime best which dates all the way back to 2018.
Her 4.60m clearance also erased the long-standing meeting record of 4.55m set by reigning European indoor and outdoor champion Angelica Moser in 2019.
Italy’s Matteo Oliveri took the win in the men’s pole vault with a clean sheet up until his final height where he attempted 5.72m. But a 5.65m clearance, also a season’s best, sufficed for victory on countback from with Estonia’s Robert Kompus.
However there was disappointment for Türkiye’s Ersu Sasma, who was the favourite to win. He measured three no-jumps at 5.58m having opened his competition by easing over 5.40m.
On his first attempt at 5.58m he appeared to walk off the mat with concern over his left ankle, which was confirmed after he bailed out of his third and final attempt, clutching his ankle and limping off the mat.
World and European indoor finalist Gerson Balde from Portugal took the win in the men’s long jump with a meeting record of 8.06m, the only jumper to break the eight metre-barrier.
Full results here