Manangoi, Bett added to Dusseldorf Indoor fields

Organisers of the PSD Bank Meeting in Dusseldorf have added more star power to the line-up for the IAAF World Indoor Tour meeting’s 13th edition, set for 6 February in this northwestern German city.

World champions Elijah Manangoi of Kenya and Sam Kendricks of the US are recent additions to a slate of athletes that includes 11 medallists from the IAAF World Championships London 2017.

Manangoi, who won the world 1500m title last August, returns to Dusseldorf seeking a third straight meeting victory over his specialty distance. Kendricks meanwhile, who ended a sensational 2017 season unbeaten in 17 competitions, will headline the pole vault where he’ll face Poland’s European indoor champion Piotr Lisek.

The men’s 800m will feature a battle between Poland’s perennial threat Adam Kszczot and rising Kenyan star Kipyegon Bett, who raced to silver and bronze respectively over the distance in London last August.

Tianna Bartoletta, the Olympic long jump champion and world bronze medallist in the event last August, will headline her event, while Croatia’s Stipe Zunic, another London bronze medallist, will take on Germany’s David Storl, a two-time world champion outdoors, in the shot put.

Action on the straight will feature Michael Rodgers of the US in the 60m and Andrew Pozzi of Great Britain, the European indoor champion, in the 60m hurdles.

The 2018 World Indoor Tour scoring disciplines in Dusseldorf include the men’s 60m, 800m, 3000m, pole vault and shot put, along with the women’s 1500m, 60m hurdles and long jump. The individual overall winner of each event upon conclusion of the tour will receive US$20,000 prize money and automatically qualify for the IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018 by wild card.

-Report by the IAAF

2018 IAAF World Indoor Tour
3 Feb – Karlsruhe
6 Feb – Düsseldorf
8 Feb – Madrid
10 Feb – Boston
15 Feb – Torun
25 Feb – Glasgow