Till Steinforth secures bronze medal at World Indoor Championships

Success in Nanjing for German athlete

Multi-event athlete Till Steinforth has won the bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in Athletics. The 22-year-old scored 6,275 points in the seven-event competition, finishing behind Norway’s Sander Skotheim with 6,475 points and Estonia’s Johannes Erm with 6,437 points.

„I am mega happy, it couldn’t have gone much better,“ said Steinforth, who previously won bronze at the European Championships in early March. „The last two weeks have been almost perfect.“ His teammate Tim Nowak finished in seventh place at the World Championships.

This achievement marked the only medal for the German team, which had a small squad in China. Unlike the recent European Championships held indoors two weeks prior in the Netherlands, Steinforth fell short of the German record. At the event in Apeldoorn, he had set a new indoor best of 6,388 points, dethroning decathlete Leo Neugebauer.

Highlights from the Championships

The day after Swedish Olympic champion Armand Duplantis celebrated his 100th jump of 6 meters or higher and claimed another title in pole vault, Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen also took gold again. After winning the 3,000 meters, he triumphed in the 1,500 meters as well. As expected, the USA emerged as the top nation, clinching victory in both 4 x 400 meter relays.

High jumper Imke Onnen from Cologne did not perform as well as Steinforth, finishing sixth with a height of 1.92 meters, while Australian defending champion Nicola Olyslagers won with 1.97 meters.

Absence of German stars at the Championships

Many members of the German team, including Olympic champions Malaika Mihambo in long jump and Yemisi Ogunleye in shot put, opted to skip the indoor event to focus on the outdoor World Championships in Tokyo later this year. In Mihambo’s absence, American Claire Bryant surprised with a jump of 6.96 meters to win the long jump. Meanwhile, Canadian favorite Sarah Mitton took the shot put title with a throw of 20.48 meters, competing without Ogunleye.