Till Steinforth secures bronze at World Indoor Championships

German multi-event athlete Till Steinforth has won the bronze medal at the World Indoor Athletics Championships. The 22-year-old finished the heptathlon in Nanjing with a total of 6,275 points, placing him behind Norway’s Sander Skotheim (6,475 points) and Estonia’s Johannes Erm (6,437 points).

This medal was the sole achievement for the German team, which had sent a small contingent to compete in China. Unlike his bronze performance at the European Championships just two weeks earlier in the Netherlands, Steinforth fell short of setting a new German record. In Apeldoorn, he had previously scored 6,388 points, breaking the indoor best set by decathlete Leo Neugebauer.

Strong performances in key events

On the day following Swedish Olympic champion Armand Duplantis‘ 100th jump over 6 meters in pole vault, Steinforth also excelled in the heptathlon, clearing 5.20 meters in the pole vault. He notably achieved the best time in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking in at 7.85 seconds, the fastest among all competitors. With a solid performance in the 1,000 meters, the Olympian secured his medal position without any threats.

Teammate Tim Nowak finished in seventh place.

Mixed results for other German athletes

High jumper Imke Onnen from Cologne did not fare as well as Steinforth, finishing sixth with a jump of 1.92 meters as Australia’s defending champion Nicola Olyslagers won with a height of 1.97 meters.

Many of the top stars from the German athletics team, including Olympic champions Malaika Mihambo (long jump) and Yemisi Ogunleye (shot put), opted out of the indoor event, focusing instead on the upcoming outdoor World Championships in Tokyo. In Mihambo’s absence, American Claire Bryant surprised everyone by winning the long jump with a distance of 6.96 meters. Canadian favorite Sarah Mitton clinched the title in the shot put, achieving a throw of 20.48 meters, also without Ogunleye competing.