US sprint hurdler is among the main attractions at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet in Poland this week
Colin Jackson’s long-standing world record for 60m hurdles could be in danger when in-form American Grant Holloway takes to the track on Wednesday (Feb 17) for the Copernicus Cup in Toruń.
Will the mark fall in the Polish city? Holloway, 23, came close with 7.32 in Lievin last week and 7.35 in Fayetteville last month.
Jackson’s record has stood since 1994 when the Briton enjoyed a momentous indoor season. Firstly he equalled Greg Foster’s world record of 7.36 in Glasgow before claiming the mark as his own with a 7.30 clocking in Sindelfingen, Germany. In the form of his life, he then captured a golden double at 60m and 60m hurdles at the European Indoor Championships in Paris a few days later.
Holloway ran 12.98 for 110m hurdles outdoors in 2019 and won the world title that year in Doha. Like Jackson, he is a great all-round athlete too – with a long jump best of 8.17m and a 44.75 split from a 4x400m to his name – and this year he seems a class apart from his rivals in his specialist event.
But Holloway has played down a record attempt, saying: “I don’t chase records, it’s the records that come to you.”
Elliot Giles hopes to continue his fine form in the 800m at a Toruń venue that is also set to stage next month’s European Indoor Championships.
Giles has been in great form lately with 800m victories in Karlsruhe and Lievin, plus 1500m PBs at events in France. In Toruń he is joined by fellow Brit Jamie Webb as they face Adam Kszczot – the Pole racing on home soil – and Kenyan Collins Kipruto.
Fresh from her world record for 5km on the roads in Monaco, Beatrice Chepkoech takes on Ethiopians Genzebe Dibaba, Lemlem Hailu and Fantu Worku at 3000m. Dibaba has raced lightly during the pandemic but ran an impressive 65:18 to win the half-marathon in Valencia in December and she is a three-time world indoor champion at 3000m.
Femke Bol and Lieke Klaver have both broken the Dutch indoor 400m record this winter and they face each other in Torun along with European champions Justyna Swiety and Lea Sprunger. With a recent best of 50.81, though, Bol will take some stopping.
Marcin Lewandowski is getting ready to defend his world indoor 1500m title in the same arena in a fortnight and the Polish runner tests himself against Selemon Barega and Bethwell Birgen in the metric mile.
Sam Kendricks leads the pole vault entries, while Gianmarco Tamberi and Andriy Protsenko head the men’s high jump line up.
In the men’s shot, Michal Haratyk faces Czech thrower Tomas Stanek and Polish indoor record-holder Konrad Bukowiecki.
Fans in the UK will be able to watch the meeting live via the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website from 4.25pm GMT, or BBC Red Button from 4.35pm until 7pm.