WIC Nanjing 25 to kick off three-year journey through China

On the eve of the 20th edition of the World Athletics Indoor Championships, World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon reinforced the importance of the event in Nanjing as it kicks off an exciting three-year athletics journey through China.

The World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25, taking place from 21-23 March, is the first of four prestigious World Athletics Series events taking place in Chinese cities between 2025 and 2027.

The World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25 will be held this May, before Yangzhou hosts the World Athletics Road Running Championships in March 2027. Beijing will then welcome the athletics world for the World Athletics Championships later in 2027.

“Over the next three days the stars of athletics will light up the Nanjing Cube in what I’m sure will be a dazzling showcase of world-class athletics,” said Ridgeon at the pre-event press conference in Nanjing.

“Beyond the competition, I can speak for all of the World Athletics Family to say that it is great to be here in China. China is a key market for both World Athletics and the wider sport of athletics, with a passionate sporting fanbase that really values athletics excellence.

“From recent research, athletics is currently the ninth most followed sport in China, and it is rapidly growing in appeal. Our goal is to elevate athletics to one of China’s top five most followed sports by the 2027 World Championships in Beijing – so we have ambitious targets for the sport here in China.”

Dong Hao, Deputy Secretary-General of the organising committee and Director of the Nanjing Municipal Sports Bureau, joined Ridgeon at the pre-championships press conference.

“Nanjing will once again host a world-class sporting event – the World Athletics Indoor Championships,” he said. “This marks another major international sports event to be held in our city following the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games and 71 other international sports events. These events not only reflect high recognition of Nanjing’s comprehensive strengths but also serve as a significant driver for the city’s sports development.

“We are confident that this event will not only deliver a visual feast for athletics enthusiasts worldwide but also further elevate Nanjing’s international profile.

“Besides, as one of China’s first nationally designated historical and cultural cities with a history of more than 3100 years, and as an innovation hub home to 53 universities and nearly one million students, Nanjing is expected to take this opportunity to showcase its unique charm blending old and new to the world.”

Athletes ready to shine in Nanjing

The press conference featured three stars of the upcoming championships: world pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis, European 60m hurdles record-holder Ditaji Kambundji and world 60m leader Zaynab Dosso.

Sweden’s Duplantis has already created incredible history and recently set the 11th world record of his career, clearing 6.27m in Clermont-Ferrand. The Olympic, world and defending world indoor champion has cleared six metres or more a remarkable 98 times and he could reach another milestone in Nanjing – potentially taking that tally of six-metre-plus clearances to 100.

“I feel like it’s quite possible,” he said. “The way everyone is jumping, I will probably have to do it just in order to win. That would be quite cool actually – get the gold, 100 clearances over six metres. That would be quite neat.”

Asked about the 10 years since he made his international debut at the World U18 Championships in Cali, he said: “The time goes so quick. I still feel quite young and I feel like there’s so much left to achieve, even though the past few years have been a dream. It is crazy, 10 years ago – the first time I put on the Swedish uniform and competed for the national team. Since then, I have done pretty much all of the things that I could have dreamt of.

“It makes you think a little bit, to really try to enjoy the moments when you have them and enjoy the privilege of being able to be an athlete and compete at these kind of competitions, representing your country, because it goes too quick.”

For Switzerland’s Kambundji, the event in Nanjing offers the chance for her to build on her own historic moment – the European indoor 60m hurdles record of 7.67 she set to win her European indoor title earlier this month.

That performance puts her joint second on the world all-time list and in Nanjing her rivals will include the world record-holder and defending champion, Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas.

“The European Indoor Championships was really good preparation and a big motivation, to run at the World Indoor Championships,” she said. “I am really excited to be able to run again, to try to do another good performance.”

On whether Charlton’s world record of 7.65 could be under threat, she added: “I think it’s for sure going to take a really fast time and I think there are a lot of athletes who are able to produce fast times. I am really excited to see what it is going to take.”

Kambundji is the younger sister of 2022 world indoor 60m champion Mujinga Kambundji, who secured silver behind Italy’s Dosso at the recent European Indoor Championships.

Speaking about the importance of that victory, which she secured in a world-leading 7.01, Dosso said: “Mujinga is not just a great competitor for me but also a great inspiration and a person that I admire. Being able to defeat her was also an inspiration.”

While her 60m PB is 7.01, her 100m best is 11.01, and asked about her ambition to break both the seven-second and 11-second barriers, Dosso replied: “Without any doubt, 10.99 is my main goal, because the 100m race is the symbol of sprinting. However, if I run under seven seconds, which I think I am capable of doing here, it would be great preparation for the outdoors.”

World Athletics

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