Olympic feeling at ISTAF 2024: five Olympic champions, a total of 13 medal winners from Paris and numerous other fan favorites will be competing in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on Sunday, September 1. Germany’s biggest athletics event also promises plenty of goosebump moments, emotional farewells and exciting premieres. More than 35,000 fans are expected. The ISTAF will be broadcasted on TV in more than 100 countries. Tickets for the ISTAF are available at www.tickets.istaf.de.
At ISTAF, fans will experience thrilling competitions with numerous Paris protagonists in just one afternoon: Decathlon silver medalist Leo Neugebauer and former world champion Niklas Kaul in the new ISTAF triathlon, Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye in the shot put, Olympic champion Grant Holloway (USA) over the 110 meter hurdles, silver medalist Sam Kendricks (USA) in the pole vault, Gina Lückenkemper, Lisa Mayer and Rebekka Haase, who together sensationally won Olympic bronze with the 4×100 meters relay, sprinting on the blue track. In the men’s 100 meters, two Canadian Olympic relay champions, Aaron Brown and Jerome Blake, will meet South Africa’s sprint star Akani Simbine. Over the 400 meters, the fast field will be led by the Dutchman Isaya Klein Ikkink, who celebrated Olympic victory with the mixed relay team in Paris, and Britain’s Alex Haydock-Wilson, who won bronze in the same race and with the men’s 4×400 meters relay team. Lisanne de Witte, Olympic silver medalist and European champion with the Dutch 4×400 meters relay team, is good for a top time in the 400 meters race. The great favorite to win the 600 meters race is Mary Moraa (24). The Kenyan won Olympic bronze in Paris (800 meters) and even World Championship gold in Budapest in 2023. Long jump ace and silver medal winner Malaika Mihambo, who had to end her season early, will open the fan zone in the Olympic Stadium.
Gina Lückenkemper: “I would have loved to run straight from Paris to the ISTAF the next morning after winning the bronze medal to celebrate it with the girls and the fans in the Olympic Stadium.”
Olympic medals also shone at the ISTAF press conference today [30.08.24] with Gina Lückenkemper, Leo Neugebauer and Grant Holloway at the Volkswagen Group Forum in Berlin. “When the result lit up on the scoreboard, it was simply unbelievable. Bronze with the relay girls – an indescribable feeling,” said Gina Lückenkemper. “We’ve been so close to a medal several times. When we finally made it, an incredible weight was lifted off our shoulders,” admitted the 27-year-old and joked: “I would have loved to run straight from Paris to the ISTAF the next morning after winning the bronze medal to celebrate it with the girls and the fans in the Olympic Stadium.”
US superstar Grant Holloway, three-time world champion and ISTAF serial winner over the 110m hurdles, also made it clear how important success at the Olympics is: “Now that I’m an Olympic champion, the pressure was lifted off my shoulders. I just want to go out there and have fun.” Grant Holloway leads the world’s season top list with super-fast 12.86 seconds. Last weekend, he triumphed at the Diamond League meeting in Poland (13.04 seconds) and said afterwards with confidence: “It’s been a long season, but I still believe I can attack the world record. The ISTAF is one of my favourite meetings.”
Decathlete Leo Neugebauer will be competing at the ISTAF for the first time. “I’ve only ever been able to watch the ISTAF on stream or TV. The atmosphere will be unique. I’m looking forward to celebrating together with the many fans in Berlin,” said Leo Neugebauer, who will be competing in the premiere of the ISTAF triathlon on Sunday together with former world champion Niklas Kaul and other decathletes. “100 meters, discus, 1,500 meters with a Gundersen start – there’s never been anything like that. That’s what makes it so exciting and cool,” says the 2.01 meter tall athlete and laughs. “Well, it will probably be cool for everyone else. 1,500 meters! For us on the track, it will be rather exhausting.”
100 meters, discus throw, 1,500 meters: The decathletes will compete three times on Sunday. Special feature: In the final heat, Neugebauer, Kaul and Co. will compete according to the so-called Gundersen method, so that the winner of the heat is also the winner of the ISTAF triathlon and does not have to wait for the points after the race. Sports fans are familiar with the Gundersen method from Nordic combined. In the 1980s, the Norwegian Gunder Gundersen developed the start mode named after him, in which the athletes start one after the other – the gaps between them reflect the point difference before the final race. The leading decathlete in the ISTAF triathlon after two events therefore starts first. The distance between the other starters is then calculated from the points gap.
Tickets: Stadium box offices open on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
The ISTAF organizers are expecting more than 35,000 fans on Sunday. Tickets are still available in the online ticket store at www.tickets.istaf.de and by calling the ISTAF ticket hotline 030 30 111 86 30. The box office at the Olympic Stadium will open at 11:30 a.m.
Schedule: Thrilling finals between 12:45 and 17:20
12:00 Stadium Opening
12:45 SCHOOLS Cup
12:58 Discus Throw (women)
13:55 ISTAF Triathlon: 100m (men)
14:05 Opening
14:20 100 m Wheelchair Speed Race (mixed)
14:50 Special Olympics Relay
14:55 ISTAF Triathlon: Discus Throw (men)
14:58 Rudi Thiel Mile
15:05 Shot Put (women)
15:15 Pole Vault (men)
15:20 100 m Hurdles (women)
15:35 110 m Hurdles (men)
15:45 Long Jump (women)
15:50 400 m Hurdles (men)
15:55 Award Ceremonies
16:05 400 m (women)
16:10 Javelin Throw (men)
16:15 400 m (men)
16:25 600 m (women)
16:40 ISTAF Triathlon: 1,500 m (men)
16:55 2,000 m steeplechase (women)
17:10 100 m (men)
17:20 100 m (women)
17:25 Award Ceremonies
17:30 End of Event
