World 60m hurdles champion Cyréna Samba-Mayela, two-time European 60m hurdles champion Nadine Visser and reigning European 100m hurdles champion Pia Skrzyszowska are to clash over the 60m hurdles in Madrid on 22 February, at the sixth World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold 2023 meeting.
After finishing in third place in 2020, Samba-Mayela will return to Madrid turned into world champion at just 22. A year ago in Belgrade, the French hurdler – who had won several international medals at young age – overtook American and Jamaican favorites to claim the gold medal with a French record of 7.78.
Netherlands’ Nadine Visser already knows how to win in Madrid. She did it in 2021, breaking the Dutch record in her last race heading to European Indoor Championship. In Torun, the 27-year-old secured her second straight European 60m hurdles title improving her own national record with 7.77 – the seventh on the European all-time list and the best since 2008.
Visser suffered an injury in 2022 which prevented her to compete at the World Indoor Championship, but now is fully recovered and has already clocked 7.86 this indoor campaign – #3 in the world in 2023.
Despite not having won any indoor medal yet, Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska will be the favorite to claim the victory at CDM Gallur on 22 February. At 21, she had a breakout season in 2022 by winning the European 100m hurdles title with an European U23 record of 12.51.
Skrzyszowska has started the indoor campaign at least at the same level (if not better) – has been unbeaten in the four races she has entered in and is the world 60m hurdles leader with 7.78, #9 in the European all-time list.
There will be other strong contenders for the victory at CDM Gallur. Starting with Netherlands’ Zoë Sedney, the reigning World Indoor Tour Madrid winner, but also with 2022 runner-up Reetta Hurske, who has dipped under 7.90 four times in 2023, improving her Finland’s record to 7.86. Ireland’s Sarah Lavin and Spain’s Teresa Errandonea and Xènia Benach will complete a top-class line-up on 22 February.
