Track and field remains a special case at the Finals—even at the next edition in Stuttgart in a year. As was the case at the multisport event in Hanover that just concluded, Baden-Württemberg’s capital lacks a suitable stadium. “I think it would be nicer if we were part of it too,” said Kristin Pudenz, the 2021 Olympic silver medalist in the discus, at this year’s track and field championships in Bochum.
But even at the 2027 Finals in Stuttgart, “track and field will unfortunately be held off-site,” said ARD sports coordinator Axel Balkausky. “In an ideal world, everything would be in one place. But unfortunately, that doesn’t always work out.” There are too few stadiums with running tracks of the right size. Last year at the Finals in Dresden, it worked out, and the enthusiasm was huge.
