Sweden’s Susanna Kallur will return to the Europa Halle in Karlsruhe on 31 January, the venue where she ran the still-standing 60m hurdles world record of 7.68 in 2008, organisers of the first IAAF Indoor Permit meeting of the year announced on Tuesday (13).
Kallur, now 33, has been bedevilled by injuries in recent years but still has her sights set on returning to the podium at a major championship.
However, there will be considerable interest in how she performs in Karlsruhe as she has not raced in public over barriers, either outdoors or indoors, since 2010; although she has some low key local races over 100m last summer.
Kallur was the European 100m hurdles champion back in 2006 and won European 60m hurdles indoor titles in 2005 and 2007 although she often just missed out on medals on the global stage, the 2000 world junior 100m hurdles champion’s solitary senior honour being the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships 60m hurdles bronze medal.
Last summer, and fit again, Kallur started training seriously again. After a stint during December on the Spanish island of Fuerteventura, she is currently in Florida for a three-week training camp.
“This is, perhaps, the last chance for a comeback,” said Kallur recently.
Unfortunately, the Karlsruhe organisers also announced that Germany’s two-time world champion David Storl had withdrawn from their meeting owing to the fact that he is still in the throes of recovering from recent surgery.
Storl hopes to be fit enough to contest the German indoor championships, which are also in the Karlsruhe Europa Halle, on 21-22 February.
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