Reigning European 1500m bronze medalist Mario García Romo will headline the men’s 1500m field at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Madrid on 22 February. The Spanish champion will face his fellow-countrymen AdelMechaal and Jesús Gómez, both European indoor medalists in the 3000m and 1500m respectively.

García Romo had a breakthrough year in 2022, when he placed fourth at the World Athletics Championship 1500m final in Oregon, then claimed the bronze medal at the European Championship in Munich. At Hayward Field, the 23-year-old clocked a personal best of 3:30.20 – the #3 in Spain’s all-time list.

In Madrid, García Romo will face for the third time in his career the European 3000m indoor record-holder Adel Mechaal. At CDM Gallur, the 32-year-old Spaniard will step down to the 1500m – a distance which has seen him finishing in fifth place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a personal best of 3:30.77.

In their two previous clashes, Mechaal claimed the triumph at the Spanish Championship 1500m final in 2021, while García Romo took revenge 12 months later by defeating Mechaal on route to win his first national title.

At the World Indoor Tour meeting in Madrid, they will dare the two-time European 1500m indoor bronze medalist Jesús Gómez – who won three straight Spanish indoor titles from 2019 to 2021 – and fellow-Spaniard Ignacio Fontes, who reached the last Olympic, World and European Championship 1500m finals.

Another name to keep an eye on in Madrid will be the United States’ Yared Nuguse. Teammate of Spain’s García Romo in Boulder, Colorado, the 23-year-old shows an impressive resume: he became the NCAA 1500m champion in 2019, qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and set a US leading time of 3:33.26 in 2022. Ahead of racing in Madrid, Nuguse will attack the American indoor mile record at the Millrose Games on 11 February.

Complete the 1500m line-up the Italian Pietro Arese, who finished in fourth place at the European Championship in 2022, and Luxembourg’s Charles Grethen, who reached the Olympic final at Tokyo 2020 Luxembourg.