ATAF Editors
World indoor 1500m champion Freweyni Hailu dominated the women’s 3000m, running 8:24.17, one of the fastest times in history at the Czech Indoor Gala 2025 – this season’s fourth World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting – in Ostrava on Tuesday.
Hailu maintained the pacemaker’s tempo through the initial 1000m, recording 2:52.08, and then clocked 5:45.8 at the 2000m mark.
The Ethiopian athlete, aged 23, accelerated in the final five laps, completing the last kilometre in 2:39. She finished with a time of 8:24.17, securing her position as eighth on the global all-time list. In second place, Portugal’s Salome Afonso, who had kept pace with Hailu early on, achieved a personal best of 8:39.25.
Kenya’s Purity Kajuju Gitonga claimed third with a personal best of 8:39.36. Notably, Gitonga’s twin sister Caroline served as the race’s pacemaker. Great Britain’s Innes FitzGerald, only 18 years old, finished fourth with a time of 8:40.05, shattering the European indoor U20 record by over 10 seconds.
“The pacemaker did a brilliant job tonight. I felt comfortable and it was easy to achieve my goal at this meeting,” Hailu said after the race. “With such a good season opener, I hope I will able to complete our national team for the World Indoor Championships.”
Records, world leads and thrilling finishes
Elsewhere, Eliott Crestan set a Belgian indoor 800m record of 1:44.69 while Algeria’s Slimane Moula, making his indoor debut over the distance, was third in 1:45.50.
Attila Molnar of Hungary ran a world-leading 400m time of 45.08, just 0.03 off the European indoor record. In the women’s 400m, Dutchwoman Lieke Klaver also topped the season list with 50.92.
USA’s 2018 world indoor bronze medallist Ronnie Baker won the 60m in 6.50 secs and Luxembourg’s Patrizia van der Weken edged out Poland’s world indoor silver medallist Ewa Swoboda in a thrilling 60m final (7.08 to 7.09).
Mattia Furlani of Italy soared to 8.23m in the men’s long jump, matching the world lead, while his compatriot Zane Weir threw 21.39m to achieve the best shot put mark of the season.
