65th Golden Spike Ostrava 2026 Reports 3,000 Tickets Sold in Pre-Sale.

Immediately after the 2025 edition concluded, pre-sale for the 65th Golden Spike began – and the pace has been remarkable, with organizers already reporting over 3,000 tickets sold. A new feature is the sale of pre‑Christmas gift tickets for the upcoming edition. From 19 December, fans will be able to purchase vouchers via the Golden Spike website, including a personalized dedication, and present them as a Christmas gift to family and friends.

The 2026 edition will be special in another way as well: on the very day of the meeting, the meeting director and javelin throw world record holder Jan Železný will celebrate his 60th birthday.

Australian sprint phenomenon

Rising sprint star Gout Gout will return to Ostrava for the second time. The young Australian made headlines in 2024 when, at 16, he broke Usain Bolt’s U18 200 m world best. Both athletes share a link with the Golden Spike – each was given the opportunity to compete in Ostrava at the age of 17.

While Bolt’s Ostrava debut was delayed by injury, Gout won on his first appearance at the meeting – and on his debut on the professional European circuit – clocking 20.02 in neutral wind conditions. The time remains his personal best and the Australian U20 record. With parents from South Sudan, Gout is widely regarded by experts as a potential future challenger to the records of the Jamaican sprint legend.

His exceptional strength lies particularly in his finish. In April, he ran 200 m in 19.84 s with a slightly illegal tailwind of +2.2 m/s, just above the allowable limit. Although the wind cost him an official first sub‑20 performance, his split from 150 m to 200 m was an astonishing 4.62 s – 0.13 s faster than Usain Bolt over the same segment during his 19.19 world record. It is a clear indication of the enormous potential he possesses.

Greek pole vault showman over six metres

Another foreign star will be Greek pole vaulter Emmanouil Karalis, silver medallist at the World Championships in Tokyo. He first appeared in Ostrava in 2016 at the age of 16, making him one of the youngest debutants in the meeting’s history. With a clearance of 5.55 m, he set a world age best for the U18 category, and “Manolo” has built superbly on that success.

Now 26, he ranks among the leading pole vaulters of his generation. In 2025, he raised his personal best to 6.08 m, placing him fourth on the all‑time world list, behind only Bubka, Lavillenie and Duplantis. Under the guidance of his father Haris and Polish coach Marcin Szczepański, he has also claimed Olympic bronze in Paris 2024 and the European indoor title in Apeldoorn 2025.

Karalis is not only a highly successful athlete but also a born entertainer. With his characteristic interaction with the crowd, often accompanied by the iconic theme from the film Zorba the Greek, he turns every competition into a genuine show.

Štefela targeting the Crystal Spike

The high jump field at the 65th Golden Spike Ostrava will feature fresh World Championships bronze medallist Jan Štefela. Coached by former world-class high jumper Jaroslav Bába, Štefela has enjoyed a breakthrough season. In March, he claimed his first senior medal at a major championship, taking silver at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn with 2.29 m. In the summer, he won at the European Team Championships with a personal best of 2.33 m, earning maximum points and playing a key role in keeping the Czech team in the First Division.

The high point came in Tokyo, where he became the first Czech high jumper ever to win a World Championships medal. At this year’s Golden Spike, however, he placed second behind Ukraine’s Nikitin, losing on countback. Štefela now has strong motivation to improve his Ostrava best next year and finally add the coveted crystal trophy to his collection.

Pole vault clash: Švábíková vs. world No. 1 Moon

Defending champion Amálie Švábíková will once again take centre stage in the women’s pole vault. She too is coming off an excellent season. The 26‑year‑old vaulter, who has been training under Jiřina Kudličková (Ptáčníková) since last season, followed up her fifth place from the 2024 Olympic Games with a superb fourth place at the World Championships in Tokyo in a world‑class field. At the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing in March, she finished fifth.

The 2023 European indoor bronze medallist will again aim high in 2026, with the Golden Spike serving as a key test ahead of the European Championships in Birmingham. The organizers, however, will not make her task easy: for the first time, Ostrava will welcome the dominant women’s pole vaulter of recent years, American Katie Moon. The Tokyo Olympic champion, Paris silver medallist and three‑time consecutive world champion (2022, 2023, 2025) has a personal best of 4.95 m and is clearly targeting the magical five‑metre barrier. The meeting record of 4.84 m, set by Britain’s Molly Caudery in 2024, is clearly under threat.

Home 100 m star Karolína Maňasová

Sprint fans will also be rewarded in the women’s 100 m. The start list will include local Ostrava sprinter Karolína Maňasová, a member of SSK Vítkovice, who will line up as the reigning European U23 champion.

The Paris Olympic semi-finalist has had a fantastic year. At the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, she reached her first senior final and improved her own Czech 60 m record to 7.10. Although injury prevented her from competing at the 2025 Golden Spike, she still greeted fans at the opening ceremony and signed autographs in the fan zone. Under coach Ivo Pištěk, she capped her season at the European Championships in Bergen, where she dominated every round and ran away with a historic gold medal in the final, placing herself alongside names such as Dafne Schippers and Ewa Swoboda.

Her 100 m personal best stands at 11.11, and she has made no secret of her ambition to break Jarmila Kratochvílová’s Czech record, which celebrated its 44th anniversary this summer. Its mark of 11.09 is “within striking distance” for Karolína. The question is whether she can achieve it on her home track in Vítkovice, with a fast surface and passionate crowd in her favour.

Hoey and Attaoui: world record assault over 1000 m

The Golden Spike is renowned for its speciality events – and the jubilee edition will feature the men’s 1000 m. The last time this distance was contested in Ostrava was in the chilly 2015 edition. Now it returns with a clear objective: to attack the world record. By the time of the race, Noah Ngeny’s 2:11.96 mark from 1999 will be almost 27 years old. The current global boom in middle-distance running and rising performance levels make this ambitious plan realistic.

The organizers have already secured two major names from the very top tier. World indoor 800 m champion Josh Hoey (USA) ran his personal best over 1500 m in Ostrava this year and has excellent memories of the meeting. Just last weekend, he set a world indoor best over 600 m. The second confirmed athlete is Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui, the 2024 European silver medallist and finalist at both the 2024 Olympic Games and 2025 World Championships, who ran the third-fastest 1000 m in history this September with 2:12.25.

Alongside the world record, the European record may also be under threat. It is still held by current World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, who ran 2:12.18 in 1981. Ostrava could thus witness the rewriting of two legendary all-time lists.

Give the Golden Spike as an experience

On Friday, 19 December, online sales of gift tickets for the 65th Golden Spike will launch on the official meeting website. The vouchers, which allow space for a personal dedication, are delivered instantly by email, making them an ideal last-minute Christmas gift for any athletics fan – whether from Ostrava, Prague, Brno or abroad.

The jubilee edition promises unforgettable moments, world-class performances and a breathtaking atmosphere in a packed stadium – a day that the recipient will remember for a long time.