ISTAF INDOOR Düsseldorf: More than 6,000 fans celebrate athletics on Sunday

DÜSSELDORF – A big stage for athletics in Düsseldorf: On Sunday, February 4, 2024, more than 6,000 fans will celebrate international top stars and German fan favorites at the ISTAF INDOOR

Düsseldorf. Seven disciplines are on the program at the PSD BANK DOME. Start is on Sunday at
12:30 pm with the junior competitions, followed by the „big ones“ from 1:30 pm onwards. TV
coverage of ISTAF INDOOR Düsseldorf will be available in more than 80 countries, with ARD
broadcasting live in Germany.

Meeting director Martin Seeber: „The anticipation is huge – it’s finally ISTAF INDOOR season again.
Together with many fans and outstanding athletes, Düsseldorf will once again become the capital of
athletics.“

Series winner Malaika Mihambo: „The signs are promising“

Fans can look forward to numerous international stars such as two-time pole vault world champion
Sam Kendricks (USA), European champion Jeremiah Azu (Great Britain, 4×100 meters) and Asier
Martínez (Spain, 110 meters hurdles), currently the fastest 60-meter hurdler in the world, as well as
Germany’s best athletes – above all Malaika Mihambo. The Olympic and world long jump champion
jumped further at the ISTAF INDOOR than at any other indoor event, winning all three editions of the
ISTAF INDOOR in Düsseldorf and four times in Berlin. Malaika Mihambo jumped to her personal
indoor record of 7.07 meters in Berlin in 2020 and her longest indoor jump of the year (6.96 meters)
at the ISTAF INDOOR Düsseldorf in 2022.

„The ISTAF INDOOR can’t be compared to any other meeting, the atmosphere is unique,“ says
Malaika Mihambo, who is celebrating her 30th birthday one day before the ISTAF INDOOR in
Düsseldorf. „It’s a birthday like any other,“ says the exceptional athlete. „I’m just looking forward to
coming back after my serious injury and the long break and jumping at the ISTAF INDOOR. The signs
are promising.“ Malaika Mihambo had to end the season 2023 prematurely at the beginning of July
after tearing a muscle fiber.

Bo Kanda Lita Baehre with comeback and premiere: „I’m very much looking forward“

The ISTAF INDOOR Düsseldorf will also be a special experience for a true Düsseldorf native: Bo Kanda
Lita Baehre is returning to the big athletics stage. More than six months after his meniscus injury, the
reigning German pole vault champion and European Championship silver medallist will start the
Olympic season at the PSD BANK DOME on Sunday. The Düsseldorf-born pole vault ace will be
wearing the jersey of his new club ART Düsseldorf for the first time on his comeback in his home
town. He had already celebrated his first successes as a youngster in the ART kit until 2015. „Being
able to celebrate my comeback in Düsseldorf at the ISTAF INDOOR is very cool, especially as it will
also be the first start for my new club. I’m really looking forward to it,“ says Bo Kanda Lita Baehre.
„Düsseldorf is my hometown – and the ISTAF INDOOR is a great format.“

In July 2023, the 24-year-old fell during a jump into the pole vault box at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco. This was
followed by a meniscus surgery and intensive rehab in Düsseldorf. Since November 2023, the German
champion has been working on his comeback with his coach Chauncey Johnson in Stellenbosch
(South Africa).

Paralympic premiere at ISTAF INDOOR – Seven exciting competitions in Düsseldorf

This has never happened before in the eleven-year history of the world’s biggest indoor meetings:
world-class Paralympic sprinters such as Paralympic champion Johannes Floors (Germany) and world
champion Maxcel Amo Manu (Italy) and Joel de Jong (Netherlands) will be competing at the ISTAF
INDOOR Düsseldorf on Sunday for the first time. „As at the ISTAF in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, we also
want to establish the Paralympic sprints at the ISTAF INDOOR and, in the year of the Paralympics,
draw attention to the outstanding sprinters from different classifications,“ says meeting director
Martin Seeber. „For many years, junior competitions in wheelchair speed racing have been an
integral part of our program. Now the fans in Düsseldorf and Berlin can also look forward to fast
sprint races by the Paralympic stars.“

Tickets at www.tickets.istaf.de / DOME box offices open on Sunday at 11:30 am

Information, results, interviews on www.istaf-indoor.de

The ISTAF INDOOR social media team will keep all fans up to date on their social networks (Instagram:
@istaf_indoor) and at www.istaf-indoor.de with a live ticker, live results, clips and photos.
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Sven Ibald
Head of Communications
ISTAF / TOP Sportevents GmbH
Hanns-Braun-Straße / Friesenhaus 1 / 14053 Berlin / Germany
T +49 (0) 30 30 111 86 13
ibald@topsportberlin.de
www.istaf-indoor.de http://www.istaf-indoor.de