In one weeks time, 1,500 sports enthusiasts will be present in Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena — all other athletics fans can follow along in front of their home screens: SPORT1 will broadcast the ISTAF INDOOR live on free-TV next Friday, February 4, 2022, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. as well as via livestream on SPORT1.de and in the SPORT1 apps. SPORT1 will also be broadcasting two hours live on February 20, when world-class athletics comes to Düsseldorf for the ISTAF INDOOR (3 p.m. to 5 p.m.).
Meeting Director Martin Seeber: “1,500 fans in Berlin and 750 in Düsseldorf — we would have loved to enjoy athletics with 12,500 and 10,500 spectators in the arenas in Berlin and Düsseldorf. But the pandemic does not make it possible, the safety and health of everyone has absolute priority, of course. We are all the more delighted that both ISTAF INDOORs can be watched live for two hours each on German TV on SPORT1.”
Kick-off to the second round: Who will win the ISTAF Trophy?
In Berlin, Olympic long jump champion Malaika Mihambo and Swedish pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis will be competing as well as Gina Lückenkemper, who will start over the 60 meters 1099 days after her last sprint at an indoor event. For two-time Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs (Italy) it is his first race after his double triumph (100m, 4x100m) in Tokyo.
The ISTAF INDOOR in the capital also marks the kick-off of the “chase” for the ISTAF Trophy. The trophy, which was launched last year on the occasion of ISTAF’s 100th birthday, will go into the next round in 2022. The ISTAF Trophy will be awarded to the athletes who collect the most points in the six INDOOR disciplines (60m/100m M/F; 60m/110m hurdles M; 60m/100m hurdles F; long jump F; pole vault M) at both the ISTAF INDOOR and the ISTAF in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. There are eight points for each victory, five points for second place — and one point for sixth place. After the kick-off in Berlin, the competition continues on February 20 at the PSD BANK DOME in Düsseldorf. The grand finale will then take place on Sunday, September 4, 2022, in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. The ISTAF Trophy is endowed with 30,000 US dollars (6 x 5,000).
According to the current regulations and the organizers’ concept, 1,500 fans will be allowed to attend on February 4, 2022 in Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena and 750 fans on February 20 in Düsseldorf’s PSD BANK DOME. All information and access rules can be found at www.istaf-indoor.de. Before the pandemic, 12,500 fans had visited the sold-out Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin and experienced world-class athletics live at the world’s largest indoor meeting. In 2021, no spectators were allowed in Düsseldorf and Berlin.
