The second day of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun delivered historic performances, highlighted by Armand Duplantis breaking the championship record with a massive 6.25m clearance. Fans witnessed an intense battle for medals amidst a spectacular celebration of world-class track and field.
Sprints and Hurdles: Szymański Dominates
Jakub Szymański was crowned the world indoor champion in the 60m hurdles, completing an undefeated indoor season. The Pole stormed to victory in 7.40s, holding off Spain’s Enrique Llopis (7.42s) and American Trey Cunningham (7.43s). The final saw the late withdrawal of Dylan Beard, who opted out just before the start. Szymański, last year’s European champion, firmly established his dominance in the sprint hurdles.
In the women’s 60m, Italy’s Zaynab Dosso took gold in 7.00s. It was a historic final, with seven athletes dipping under the 7.10s mark. Jacious Sears (USA) secured silver in 7.03s, while Paris Olympic champion Julien Alfred took bronze in the same time (7.03s). With this win, Dosso completes her full set of World Indoor Championship medals.
The men’s 400m saw Canada’s Christopher Morales Williams set a new championship record of 44.76s. This marked the first time in history a runner has broken 45 seconds on a short track outside of the United States. Silver went to Khaleb McRae (USA) in 45.03s, with Jereem Richards taking bronze (45.39s) in a technically superb race.
Field Events and Mid-Distance Battles
The undisputed star of the night was Armand Duplantis, who secured his fourth consecutive world indoor title. The Swede cleared 6.25m, improving his own championship record. In a historic first for an indoor competition, three men cleared the 6.00m barrier: Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis took silver (6.05m), and Australia’s Kurtis Marschall claimed bronze (6.00m).
In the high jump, Ukraine’s Oleh Doroshchuk took gold as the only athlete to clear 2.30m on his first attempt. Mexico’s Erick Portillo caused a major upset by taking silver (2.30m), earning his country’s first-ever global medal in the event. Bronze was shared by Woo Sanghyeok and Raymond Richards, both clearing 2.26m.
The women’s triple jump saw Leyanis Pérez Hernández of Cuba defend her title with a leap of 14.95m, besting world record holder Yulimar Rojas (14.86m) and Senegal’s Saly Sarr.
European athletes dominated the 3000m. In the women’s race, Italy’s Nadia Battocletti clocked 8:57.64 for gold, finishing ahead of Emily MacKay (USA) and Jessica Hull.
In the men’s 3000m, Great Britain’s Josh Kerr defended his title with a blistering final lap, clocking 7:35.56—the second-fastest time in championship history. He was followed closely by Cole Hocker (USA) in 7:35.70 and France’s Yann Schrub in 7:35.71 in a photo-finish for the podium.
New 400m Format and Mixed Relay Drama
The women’s 400m finals featured a new format, splitting eight finalists into two heats to ensure competitive fairness. 20-year-old Lurdes Gloria Manuel (Czech Republic) posted the fastest overall time of 50.76s (a new PB) to take gold. Natalia Bukowiecka secured silver by winning her heat in a new Polish record of 50.83s. The Netherlands’ Lieke Klaver took bronze in 51.02s.
The debut of the mixed 4x400m relay on the indoor program brought high drama. Belgium took the title with an indoor world best of 3:15.60. Spain followed with silver (3:16.96), while Poland was promoted to bronze (3:17.44) after Jamaica was disqualified for an exchange zone violation.
