Women's middle-distance running will once again take center stage on February 6 at the World Indoor Tour Madrid, the fourth stop on the World Athletics Gold Tour circuit, with an 800 meters race that promises to be one of the races of the season.
No fewer than 13 athletes with personal bests under two minutes will battle for victory at the CDM Gallur. All eyes will be on Swiss runner Audrey Werro, who at just 21 years old is already competing with the best 800-meter runners in the world. 2025 was a banner year for her: she won the Diamond League final, became European U23 champion, finished fourth at the World Indoor Championships, and sixth outdoors. She stopped the clock at 1:55.91, a Swiss record and one of the best continental times of the 21st century.
Among her rivals for the win are the three athletes who swept the podium at the 2025 European Indoor Championships: Poland's Anna Wielgosz (gold), France's Clara Liberman (silver), and Slovenia's Anita Horvat (bronze). All three have broken 1:59 outdoors, but none have yet broken the two-minute barrier on the short track, and Madrid presents the perfect opportunity to do so.
Another of the big favorites for the victory will be the Australian Catriona Bisset, Oceania record holder in short track (1:59.46) and winner of the WIT Madrid in 2022. She was succeeded in the list of winners by the Beninese Noélie Yarigo, who in the final stretch of her career (she is 39 years old) is experiencing a second youth: in addition to winning in Madrid in 2023, that same year she set her Benin record (1:58.48) and twelve months later she won the world indoor bronze.
Less well-known to the general public, the San Vicente-born record holder Shafiqua Maloney (1:57.29 outdoors and 1:58.69 on short track) already caused a stir at the Paris Olympics, where she finished fourth, and hopes to do the same in Madrid. Her consistency is a major advantage: she has broken the 2:00 barrier 22 times over the last three seasons.
The list of international athletes is completed by two European finalists such as the Swiss Lore Hoffman (1:58.29) and Italian Eloisa Coiro (1:58.64), in addition to the Canadian Maeliss Trapeau (1:58.90).
The Spanish contingent is equally impressive. Two Madrid natives, Lorea Ibarzabal (1:59.60) and Rocío Arroyo (1:59.17), the newly crowned European U23 silver medalist, will try to keep the victory within the capital. Another Madrid native, but by choice, Daniela García (2:00.05), is aiming to break the 2:00 barrier for the first time. And the very young Marta Mitjans (1:59.88), the Spanish U20 record holder, will challenge the established leaders in the event.
Don't miss the best 19th-century European artists in Madrid on February 6th. For more information about the event and tickets, visit our website: madridindoorathletics.es