Valencia preview; Champions and title defenders – Valencia preview; Champions and title defenders – 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain

Three days before the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain, it is clear that the local organisers have achieved their aim of ensuring a record number of participating countries.

Judging from the currently available team selections, eleven individual World Champions from Osaka will be amongst the competitors (5 men and 6 women) and the same number of individual title defenders are expected to appear in their winning events.

This means that nearly half of the Championship events will definitely boast a new Indoor Champion after the weekend, this is particularly evident in the running events like the women's 400m where the only remaining title defender is 2006 400m Champion, Olesya Forsheva (RUS) who competes only in the 4x400m Relay.

Below we take an event by event review of the Osaka World Champions, Moscow 2006 title defenders and other previous World Indoor winners, likely to be participating in Valencia this weekend.

MEN

60m
Osaka Sprint King Tyson Gay (USA) is not running indoors at all this season, and his compatriot, Indoor title defender Leonard Scott, did not qualify after injuring himself at the US Nationals, therefore there will be a new 60m Sprint Champion in Valencia.

400m
World Champion Jeremy Wariner is not competing indoors, however Indoor defender Alleyne Francique of Grenada wants to try for his third World Indoor title in a row after Budapest and Moscow.

800m
Osaka winner Alfred Kirwa Yego (KEN) is not competing indoors this season but title defender Wilfred Bungei (KEN) appears to be in top shape following his recent wins in Valencia and Stuttgart.

1,500m
The USA's double World Champion Bernard Lagat has been competing indoors, but announced early on that he was not planning on running in Valencia. Title defender Ivan Heshko of Ukraine is also not competing after starting his season late due to a small injury.

3,000m
After much deliberation, Ethiopian reigning World Outdoor and Indoor Champion Kenenisa Bekele has chosen to run the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh at the end of March instead of the World Indoors, so the 3,000m crown is also up-for-grabs.

60m Hurdles
The current World Champion Liu Xiang of China, acknowledged some time ago that he would compete in Valencia, however he will compete with very little current competition experience. Title defender Terrence Trammell is passing on the Indoors, however there are also former winners like Allen Johnson (1995, 2003, 2004) taking part who could just manage to pull another title winning performance out of the bag.

High Jump
Osaka medallist, Donald Thomas, has taken part in his first European Indoor season, but after struggling with injuries and his technique, in the end the Bahamian decided to pass on the competition. Russian title defender Yaroslav Rybakov leads the lists with 2.38m from the Russian National Championships and his form seems to be ever improving, however former World Indoor Champion (2001, 2003, 2004) Stefan Holm (SWE) has also been in great shape since the start of the 2008 season so it should make for very interesting competition.

Pole Vault
Current Indoor and Outdoor Champion, Brad Walker (USA) had a bad fall in Glasgow, then jumped only 5.50m at Millrose, but he won the US Nationals and is definitely coming to Valencia. German Tim Lobinger has a World Indoor title from 2003 and in his current good form he will be a worthy challenger for the gold medal.

Long Jump
World Champion Irving Saladino from Panama has jumped World leading distances at both meetings he has taken part in this year (8.20m then 8.42m) but his indoor season has ended prematurely through injury. Reigning World Indoor Champion Ignisious Gaisah from Ghana injured himself heavily in Athens and is also out of competition and with no former Champions entered, the men's Long Jump is an open competition.

Triple Jump
World Champion Nelson Evora leads the World lists with his Portuguese record of 17.33m from Karlsruhe, and the 23-year-old is the hot favourite to win in Valencia as title defender Walter Davis (USA) will not compete this year.

Shot Put
American Reese Hoffa has the gold's from Osaka and Moscow and will be competing in Valencia. However no less than three former Champions are competing for the same Indoor crown – fellow American Christian Cantwell (2004), Spanish captain Manuel Martinez (2003) and Ukrainian Yuri Bilonog (1997).

Heptathlon
World Champion Roman Sebrle accepted the invitation and will compete in Valencia. Title defender Andre Niklaus of Germany did not achieve the necessary mark to qualify. However, Sebrle already holds two Indoor titles from 2001 and 2004 and he will be a difficult man to stop from completing his Hat Trick.

WOMEN

60m
Jamaican World Champion Veronica Campbell is not running Indoors this year and title defender Melissa Barber is doing the same. With no previous gold medallists entered, this event will soon boast a brand new Champion.

400m
Britain's World Champion, Christine Ohuruogu, has only competed in the 60m Sprints this indoor season, and the title defender Olesya Forsheva (Krasnomovets) qualified for the relay, but not for the individual race, this could leave the race open for former Champion from 2003 and 2004, Russia's Natalya Nazarova.

800m
Kenyan Osaka winner Janeth Jepkosgei is passing on the Indoor Championships, but super vet Maria Mutola is ready to defend her Moscow title. Mutola already holds seven Indoor gold's (1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006) and she is looking like a favourite to add number eight to her collection.

1,500m
This event is shaping up to be one of the highest quality events of the competition. World Champion, Maryam Jamal started the indoor season in Stockholm with a good win, but title defender, Yulia Fomenko (RUS) is also in great shape. Then we add in Russian's new World record holder Yelena Soboleva and this could definitely be one of the most closely fought competitions of the Championships.

3,000m
Reigning World Indoor and Outdoor Champion Meseret Defar from Ethiopia, plans to run in Valencia. If the 24-year-old athlete wins, she will be claiming her third World Indoor title after win also in 2004.

60m Hurdles
World Champion Michelle Perry is not competing indoors and title defender Derval O´Rourke of Ireland has had to pull out after not performing at her expect level due to injuries. However stepping into the brink is Sweden's new World record breaking Hurdler, Susanna Kallur.

High Jump
This will be another of those highlight events from the World Indoors in Valencia, as World Champion Blanka Vlasic will go head-to-head with Moscow title defender (and also 2004 gold medallist) Yelena Slesarenko. Both athletes are in excellent shape, and despite a recent niggle with her foot, Vlasic appears ready to take on the World again.

Pole Vault
The multi-award winning Pole Vaulter who holds both Osaka and Moscow gold's, not to mention 2005, 2004, and 2003 World titles is one of the star attractions in Valencia. Yelena Isinbayeva will go for her third consecutive Indoor title, and although the incredible Russian is often described as being in a class all of her own, her main rival in this competition, Svetlana Feofanova, also has a gold medal to her name (2003) and was the athlete who managed to put an end to Isinbayeva's 4-year winning streak this year. In the start list there is also 2001 Champion Pavla Rybova of the Czech Republic.

Long Jump
Both title holders are missing for this event; Tatyana Lebedeva (RUS) is recovering from surgery and Tatyana Kotova did not want to compete in Valencia so did not participate in the Russian Nationals. So there will be a new World Indoor Long Jump Champion this weekend.

Triple Jump
World Champion Yargelis Savigne is heading to Spain despite a minor injury, but as Tatyana Lebedeva is the Triple Jump title defender a new Champion will be crowned here too.

Shot Put
New Zealand's Osaka winner Valerie Vili will make a special trip to Europe just for the IAAF World Indoor Championships, however title defender, Natalya Khoroneko of Belarus, is passing on this year's competition, having recently given birth to her little boy Iyla with 2003 World Shot Put Champion Andrey Mikhnevich. Khoroneko has just started to slowly return to training, and there are no other previous winners participating.

Pentathlon
Osaka winner and Multi-event legend Carolina Kluft (SWE) was forced to stop her indoor season early due to a thigh injury, this has opened the competition out to title defender Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine who is in really great shape, but also to the British threat of Kelly Sotherton. 2004 Pentathlon winner Naide Gomes (POR) is competing in Valencia but only in the Long Jump.

Source: European Athletics (EAA)