World Athletics Indoor Tour

Welcome to our comprehensive lead-in coverage to the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, the first meeting of the 2020 IAAF World Indoor Tour. 

Ethiopian teenager Tadese Worku and defending champion Winfred Mutile Yavi from Bahrain will be in the spotlight at the 88th edition of the Cinque Mulini in San Vittore Olona, Italy, the seventh leg of this season’s World Athletics Cross Country Permit, on Sunday (26).

For tenacity, Worknesh Degefa was the star of the show in the 21st anniversary race of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race on Friday (24), the Ethiopian enduring mid-race physical problems to clock 2:19:38 and win the women’s race. But for sheer opportunism, debutants Olika Adugna of Ethiopia and Eric Kiptanui of Kenya carried the day, outwitting the tried and tested marathoners, to finish first and second in the men’s race, in 2:06:15 and 2:06:17.

The full ten-meeting schedule for the 2020 World Athletics Continental Tour (Gold level) has been finalised with the addition of Nairobi, which will be the first African host city.

Haftamnesh Tesfay leads a quartet of sub-2:22 runners at the 39th edition of the Osaka Women’s Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, on Sunday (26), while local eyes will be watching a race that could determine the third Japanese spot on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic team.

Saturday, 25 January, marks 183 days until the Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies in Tokyo. That would explain the heightened sense of urgency spiking through the athletics world. And on Saturday, many athletes – from Olympic hopefuls to medal aspirants – will be kicking off their Olympic year at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, the first stop on the 2020 World Athletics Indoor Tour.

The World Athletics road race medical protocol, developed for last year’s World Athletics Championships in Doha, has drastically reduced the number of medical emergencies at other road races that have introduced the management system.

Organisers of the PSD Bank Meeting in Dusseldorf have announced two high-quality fields for the 60m hurdles races at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting on 4 February.

John Hancock and the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) today announced the elite international fields for the Boston Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, on 20 April.

Ethiopian record-holder Worknesh Degefa will target a second victory at the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, while compatriots Soloman Deksisa and Seifu Tura lead a strong men's field for the World Athletics Gold Label road race on Friday (24).

World marathon record-holder Brigid Kosgei is the standout name in the women’s field for the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, while 11 men with sub-60-minute PBs will line up for the World Athletics Gold Label road race on 21 February.

The 2020 World Athletics Indoor Tour, a series of the seven finest indoor meetings on the planet, gets underway later this week with the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston on 25 January.