The men's 60-meter hurdles will once again be the center of attention on February 6 at the World Indoor Tour Madrid, the fourth stop on the World Athletics Gold Tour circuit.
The straightaway at the Gallur Sports Centre will host one of the great duels in continental athletics, featuring Italy's Lorenzo Simonelli and Spain's Quique Llopis, the reigning European outdoor champion and runner-up, respectively. This rivalry extends to the global stage with the presence of American Dylan Beard, winner of the legendary Millrose Games in New York in 2025. And, of course, with France's Wilhem Belocian, the current European and world runner-up in the 60m hurdles.
Now in her thirties, Belocian is experiencing a second golden age after a decade at the forefront of the sport. Eleven years have passed since her bronze medal at the European Indoor Championships in Prague and five since she was crowned continental champion in Torun. However, 2025 was her most complete season: after finishing second in Madrid, she climbed to the second step of the podium at the European Championships in Apeldoorn and repeated that feat two weeks later at the World Championships in Nanjing. She cleared 7.50 meters no fewer than four times.
On February 6th, he will face Quique Llopis, his nemesis at the WIT Madrid 2025, where he equaled his own Spanish record of 7.48 on two occasions (semis and final). The Gandia native completed a tremendous 2025 with his third national title in the 110m hurdles (going under 13 seconds with an invalid wind) and capped off his season with fourth place at the World Championships in Tokyo, just four hundredths of a second away from the bronze.
And joining him at the WIT will be Italian Lorenzo Simonelli, one of his most prominent rivals in recent seasons. European champion in the 110m hurdles and world runner-up in the 60m hurdles in 2024, he also holds the Italian records for both distances (13.05 and 7.43). Madrid will mark his 22nd duel against Llopis, a matchup in which they maintain an unprecedented parity: the Spaniard leads 5-8 outdoors and the Italian 5-3 indoors. However, in 2025, the score was 2-4 in favor of Llopis.
Beard, for his part, returns to Madrid eager for revenge after finishing fourth at the last World Athletics Championships, where he failed to live up to his status as the favorite, a status he earned with his 7.38, which ultimately became the second-best time in the world in 2025. The American arrives after a spectacular outdoor season in which he broke 13.10 three times in the 110m hurdles and 13.20 nine times. He reached the semifinals of the World Championships in Tokyo.
Spain's Asier Martínez (7.49), the 2022 world bronze medalist and European outdoor champion, will be waiting for his chance to win again in Madrid, as he did four years ago. Also vying for the title are American Jamal Britt (7.52), third in last summer's Diamond League final; and Belgians Michael Obasuyi (7.54), fifth in the world indoor rankings for 2025, and Elie Bacari (7.51), the national record holder. Rounding out the top-level 60m hurdles field are Spaniards Daniel Cisneros (7.64), Kevin Sánchez (7.68), Ángel Díaz (7.72), and Dani Castilla (7.74).
Don't miss the world's fastest hurdlers in Madrid on February 6th. For more information about the event and ticket sales, visit our website: madridindoorathletics.es