National records, World Championship qualifying times, personal bests: The 84th ISTAF, featuring 157 athletes from 42 nations at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, once again delivered world-class performances en masse on Sunday afternoon. 28,500 fans cheered Robert Farken’s German mile record, Eileen Demes’ fantastic improvement in the 400-meter hurdles, and the excellent performances of German athletics stars Malaika Mihambo, Gina Lückenkemper, and Julian Weber. “The athletes had ideal conditions and delivered outstanding performances,” said meeting director Martin Seeber after an atmospheric afternoon of athletics in front of a large crowd.
With both arms stretched toward the blue sky above Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, javelin thrower Julian Weber (USC Mainz) celebrated his latest ISTAF triumph after his sixth attempt on Sunday afternoon. With a throw of 84.03 meters, the Berlin-based 2022 European champion snatched victory from the previous leader, Dawid Wegner (Poland; 83.40 m). The 31-year-old thus secured his fourth ISTAF victory in a row. “The atmosphere was just amazing. It’s something special to throw here. Even though my technique wasn’t quite right today. After the intensive training of the past few weeks, I needed something to get back into the competition,” said the current world’s best javelin thrower. Thomas Röhler (LC Jena) also achieved his best distance in his last attempt. 80.55 meters meant fourth place for the 2016 Olympic champion.
He had announced his attack on the German record – and Robert Farken delivered. Over the mile (1,609.34 meters), the Leipzig native maintained a fast pace after the pacemakers dropped out and rewarded himself with a new best time of 3:48.83 minutes. The 27-year-old improved his own German record, set just a few weeks ago, by three-tenths of a second. Although Germany’s middle-distance ace had to let Norway’s Narve Gilje Nordas (3:47.68 min) and Italy’s Federico Riva (3:48.11 min; NR) pull away on the final lap, Robert Farken fought for the record right up to the finish line. Long-distance runner Mohamed Abdilaahi (Cologne Athletics) shone in fifth place with a time of 3:49.32 minutes. Just two weeks ago, he improved Dieter Baumann’s long-standing German record over 5,000 meters by one second to 12:53.63 minutes. “I had to do a lot from the front. Hopefully, it will be different at the World Championships. Because, of course, I want to win at the ISTAF too,” said Robert Farken after his sixth (!) German record in 2025.
Malaika Mihambo jumps to victory, Gina Lückenkemper finishes a strong second
Long jump queen Malaika Mihambo (LG Kurpfalz) was once again unbeatable at the ISTAF. The Olympic, world, and European champion won with a jump of 6.73 meters ahead of seven-meter jumper Agate de Sousa (Portugal; 6.57 m). “It’s really fun to interact with the crowd in this stadium and create such a special moment for yourself. My thigh was a little sore, so I ran through the last two attempts. I’m really happy that I was able to take first place despite these conditions,” said Malaika Mihambo after her third ISTAF triumph.
Sprint star and local hero Gina Lückenkemper (SCC Berlin) fought to the finish line for the prestigious victory in the 100 meters. With a new season’s best time of 11.05 seconds, the top German sprinter was narrowly beaten by the US athlete Maia McCoy (11.01 sec), who had only improved her personal best to 10.96 seconds on Wednesday. “I had a lot of fun because the ISTAF is simply my favorite meeting. Unfortunately, I made a technical error after the start and straightened up too early. That makes it difficult at the end. Running 11.05 seconds shows what is still possible,” explained Gina Lückenkemper, before turning her attention to the autograph marathon.
Ackeem Blake scratches the ten-second mark
In the men’s event, German 100-meter record holder Owen Ansah (Hamburger SV) was only beaten by Jamaican Ackeem Blake (10.05 sec) in calm conditions. His training partner Lucas Ansah-Peprah (Hamburger SV) and Yannick Wolf (Cologne Athletics) finished fifth and sixth in a dead heat with times of 10.27 seconds. “We’re still in the middle of our preparations. That’s why I’m sure we’ll be significantly faster in the coming weeks,” said Owen Ansah after finishing second on the fast sprint track.
The longer the competition went on, the better the shot putters got into their stride: in the fifth attempt, Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye (MTG Mannheim) catapulted herself from eighth place to the top with a throw of 18.88 meters. But Fanny Roos‘ counterattack was decisive. The Swede threw the four-kilogram shot 19.04 meters, which secured her the victory. Behind Danniel Thomas-Dodd (Jamaica; 18.82 m), fourth and fifth places went to Katharina Maisch (LV 90 Erzgebirge; 18.43 m) and Alina Kenzel (VfB Stuttgart; 18.39 m). “You achieve distances like that when you come out of training and can’t build up the right speed. But of course, my focus is on the World Championships,” said Yemisi Ogunleye, looking ahead to the tasks ahead and promising: “I’ll get the ISTAF victory someday!”
German long hurdlers shine with personal bests
The very first race had the fans in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on their feet. Eileen Demes (TV Neu-Isenburg) stormed ahead of the competition in the 400-meter hurdles. The gap between her and her rivals showed just how fast the Hessian was running. The clock showed 54.29 seconds at the finish line – half a second under her personal best, the direct qualifying standard for the World Championships in Tokyo in mid-September and a storming run into the world elite. Only eight German runners have ever been faster than the 27-year-old. Elena Kelety (Frankfurt Athletics) completed the German double in second place with a time of 55.06 seconds. “The spectators helped me a lot today. My family was in the stadium and lots of friends and acquaintances, which was a huge support. I’m just really happy about my personal best and the World Championships qualifying time. I felt that I had this time in me,” said Eileen Demes jubilantly after her ISTAF coup.
In the men’s event, the local hero was just a hair’s breadth away from victory in the 400 meters hurdles. With a time of 48.21 seconds, Emil Agyekum (SCC Berlin) was narrowly beaten by the young Qatari Ismail Abakar (48.04 sec). The Berlin athlete managed to exactly match his personal best, which he set in 2024 – at the ISTAF, of course. World Championship finalist Joshua Abuaku (Eintracht Frankfurt) finished fifth with a time of 49.39 seconds. “I’m really happy with my time and my rhythm. The track here in Berlin is fast, my family and friends are here – it couldn’t be better,” said Emil Agyekum.
Lea Meyer and Jolanda Kallabis storm to German double victory
The German women secured a double victory in the 2.000-meter steeplechase. Lea Meyer (VfL Löningen) kept pace with the pacemakers from the start and set her sights on the German best time of 5:52.80 minutes – set by Gesa Krause (Silvesterlauf Trier) six years ago at the ISTAF. In the end, her time of 5:57.76 minutes was not quite enough. But the 2022 European Championship silver medalist once again proved her strong form. Jolanda Kallabis (FT 1844 Freiburg) also came on strong in the second half of the race, with the 20-year-old improving her personal best by three seconds with a time of 6:04.79 minutes.
“The atmosphere pushed me incredibly, which is why I couldn’t really control myself and passed the pacemaker early. The time is okay in the end. I have to run that fast if I want to stay under nine minutes in the 3,000-meter steeplechase,” said Lea Meyer after her strong performance on the track. “I knew I couldn’t beat Lea. She’s just in a league above me. For me, the race feels like a victory. I’m overwhelmed because I’ve never run in front of so many people before,” said Jolanda Kallabis after her strong performance.
Duo leaves six meters on the table
Two high jumpers attempted to clear six meters in the pole vault. However, the “magic mark” was not to be surpassed on Sunday. Nevertheless, winner Ersu Sasma celebrated exuberantly his new Turkish record of 5.92 meters. The “Flying Dutchman” Menno Vloon (Netherlands) took second place with the same height. Bo Kanda Lita Baehre (Düsseldorf Athletics) was one of three jumpers to clear 5.72 meters and finished in fifth place.
Jana Marie Becker (Königsteiner LV) celebrated a new personal best in the 800 meters. The 19-year-old improved by more than half a second to 2:00.76 minutes and was close behind European Championship fifth-place finisher Majtie Kolberg (LG Kreis Ahrweiler; 2:00.44 min). Caroline Brendlinger (Austria) secured victory in 1:58.99 minutes ahead of Lorea Ibarzabal (Spain; 1:59.70 min).
Ditaji Kambundji wins strong hurdle sprint final
In the hurdle sprint, Ditaji Kambundji did not let victory slip away. With a time of 12.52 seconds, the Swiss athlete held off strong competition from Nadine Visser (Netherlands; 12.57 sec) and Pia Skrzyszowska (Poland; 12.72 sec). Just over 13 seconds behind in fourth and fifth place were Marlene Meier (TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen), who improved her season’s best to 13.01 seconds, and Ricarda Lobe (MTG Mannheim; 13.02 sec). In the men’s 110 meters hurdles, Japan’s Tatsuki Abe won with a new personal best of 13.23 seconds ahead of Tokyo Olympic champion Hansle Parchment (Jamaica; 13.26 seconds). The German duo Gregory Minoue (TV Kalkum-Wittlaer; 13.58 sec) and Manuel Mordi (Hamburger SV; 13.60 sec) finished seventh and ninth.
The first winner of the 84th ISTAF comes from Algeria. Triple jumper Yasser Triki landed exactly at 17.00 meters early Sunday afternoon and snatched the coveted victory at the start of the traditional meeting. Germany’s triple jump dominator Max Heß (LAC Erdgas Chemnitz) followed in second place with 16.04 meters, then Shemaiaih James (Australia; 16.03 m) and Amath Faye (Senegal; 16.02 m) followed by the narrowest of margins. “I was very happy with the atmosphere today, but unfortunately not with my jumps,” said Max Hess after finishing second, thanking the 28,500 fans in the Olympic Stadium for their support.
Felix Streng gets his Paralympic revenge
Felix Streng (Sprintteam Wetzlar) proved his current exceptional form in para sprinting over 100 meters. With a time of 10.65 seconds, he achieved his Paralympic revenge against Paris champion Sherman Guity Guity (Costa Rica; 10.82 sec). “The stadium has so much history, I really wanted to win. The atmosphere was absolutely crazy, it allowed me to show my form even better,” said the Hessian after his strong ISTAF debut in the Olympic Stadium.
Under the watchful eye of “Mr. ISTAF” Rudi Thiel, an exceptional European talent won the U20 junior “Rudi Thiel Mile.” Filip Toul (Czech Republic) did not let victory slip away on the blue track, sprinting to victory in 4:03.65 minutes. The Czech U20 record holder won ahead of Finland’s Joonas Kumpulainen (4:04.26 min) and the talented German middle-distance runners David Scheller (LG Main-Spessart; 4:07.50 min) and Yannick Graf (TSV Gomaringen; 4:08.26 min). Long-time meeting director Rudi Thiel had launched the U20 mile in 2024 together with the ISTAF team. Of course, the 97-year-old did not miss the opportunity to watch the race from the VIP stand and present the awards to the talented runners.
After the 84th ISTAF, meeting director Martin Seeber looked back with satisfaction on a high-class afternoon of athletics: “The weather gods must be ISTAF fans! They provided perfect conditions for athletics. The athletes had the best conditions and delivered outstanding performances. The traditional recipe for success at ISTAF – the best Germans against the best in the world – works. Thank you very much for these performances, thank you to the 28,500 spectators in the stadium and many more watching on TV. A big thank you to our partners, sponsors, the media, and our 400 volunteers.”
ISTAF fans sign up for “The Games for Berlin”
The citizens’ initiative “Die Spiele für Berlin” (The Games for Berlin) was active around the Olympic Stadium during the ISTAF. The initiative, launched by the Berlin State Sports Federation, is collecting signatures for the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, 2040, or 2044 in the German capital. Over the next six months, the aim is to collect 20,000 signatures from Berliners over the age of 16. And, of course, ISTAF fans signed in droves to bring the Olympic Games to Berlin.
