On February 6th, the best shot putters on the planet will face off in the World Indoor Tour Madrid, the fourth stop on the World Athletics Gold category world circuit.
The weightlifting competition at CDM Gallur will bring together the reigning silver and bronze medalists from the last World Championships in Tokyo 2025 and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, three men with marks exceeding 22 meters, and the national record holders from Italy, Sweden, Jamaica, Mexico, Serbia, and Portugal. Quite a lineup.
Among them all, the label of favorite will inevitably fall on the American Joe KovacsHe is undoubtedly one of the greatest throwers in history. With a throw of 23.23 meters, he holds the second-best mark of all time, in addition to a tremendous record: three Olympic silver medals in the last three Games, five World Championship medals including two golds, and three victories in the Diamond League final, a competition of which he is the current champion.
The other big contender for victory in Madrid on February 6th will be the Italian Leonardo FabbriThe dominant force in the shot put in Europe in recent years. The 22.98m with which he won the Diamond League final in 2024 places him fifth in the all-time world rankings, and his trophy case boasts three world medals (a silver and a bronze outdoors, and a bronze indoors) and one continental medal: the one that crowned him as the reigning European champion in Rome in 2024. He will return to Madrid after leading Italy to the top of the podium at the recent European Team Championships.
Following those two, the range of contenders for victory at the CDM Gallur will be very broad. Starting with the Mexican. Uziel Muñoz (PB: 21.97 m), the surprising world runner-up in Tokyo just three months ago, and continuing with the Jamaican Rajindra Campbell (PB: 22.31 m), bronze medalist at the last Olympic Games, winner of the World Indoor Tour Madrid in 2024 and record holder of the meeting with 22.16 m in that same edition.
The competition will be completed by three pitchers who know what it's like to climb onto international podiums throughout their careers: the Swede Victor Petersson (PB: 21.49 m), current European indoor runner-up; the Serbian Armin Sinancevic (PB: 21.88 m), European runner-up in 2022; and the Portuguese Tsanko Arnaudov (PB: 21.56 m), continental bronze in 2016.
Don't miss the world's best throwers at the indoor athletics festival in Madrid. For more information about the event and ticket sales, visit our website: madridindoorathletics.es