Mondo Duplantis in action in Ostrava (© Anna Spundova)
Mondo Duplantis, Haruka Kitaguchi and Neeraj Chopra have been announced for the Ostrava Golden Spike and will join their fellow global gold medallists Femke Bol and Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting on 24 June.
World pole vault record-holder Duplantis has enjoyed a strong start to his year, winning his third world indoor title in Nanjing in March and more recently clearing 6.11m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Shanghai/Keqiao.
Olympic bronze medallist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece also surpassed six metres in Shanghai/Keqiao and the two athletes will meet again in Ostrava.
Multiple Olympic and world champion Duplantis set the meeting record of 6.12m in 2023.
“It’s great to be back in Ostrava,” he said. “Vaulting right in front of the main stand, that direct contact with the fans is something I really enjoy.
“By the time of the meet, I’ll have several competitions under my belt, so I should be ready for a strong performance. Maybe I’ll try to attack the meeting record of 6.12m, or even go higher. A lot depends on the weather, too. I believe the stands will be packed and the fans will push us forward.”
The javelin will again be in the spotlight, with both women’s and men’s competition taking place.
The women’s event will star Japan’s world champion Kitaguchi, winner of the past two Diamond League titles, while the men’s event will include 2022 Diamond League champion Chopra of India, who also gained world gold in Budapest and claimed the Tokyo Olympic title.
“I am excited to announce that I will be competing at Zlata Tretra Ostrava this year,” said Chopra. “It’s a legendary meet and this edition will be extra special. My coach Jan Zelezny not only won there many times but is also the director of the event. I am feeling great and hope you will see some really nice and long throws.”
This trio will join the already announced Bol and Ingebrigtsen, plus Gout Gout, Jakub Vadlejch, Lurdes Gloria Manuel and Tomas Stanek in Ostrava.
