16 January 2017

The Müller Indoor Grand Prix will once again act as the final of the 2017 IAAF World Indoor Tour, as the world’s best athletes come to the Barclaycard Arena on Saturday 18 February.

The IAAF World Indoor consists of five of the biggest indoor athletics events in the world, with athletes winning points in their discipline across the tour, and the 2017 winners will be crowned in Birmingham.

The Tour gets underway in Boston at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Saturday 28 January, before heading to Europe for two meetings in Germany at the start of February, firstly in Dusseldorf on 1 February and then in Karlsruhe on 4 February.

The next event of the Tour is in Poland at the Copernicus Cup on 10 February, and the finale in Birmingham takes place a week later.

This will be the second year of the IAAF World Indoor Tour, following a successful inauguration in 2016.

Long jumper Lorraine Ugen was Britain’s only victor last year, finishing one place ahead of compatriot Shara Proctor, but more home athletes will have their sights set on Tour glory in the Midlands next month.

This year signals the expansion of the Tour from four meetings to five, and a further non-European meeting will be added in 2018.

The individual overall winner of each event receives US$20,000 in prize money and a ‘wild card’ entry to the IAAF World Indoor Championships.

IAAF President Sebastian Coe said: “The introduction of the IAAF World Indoor Tour is an important addition to the promotion of athletics. The winter track season now has a structure which cements the best invitational indoor track meets together and links them directly to the IAAF World Indoor Championships. It’s a model which is easily understandable for athletes, media and fans alike.

“Indoor athletics was an important part of my running career. My first international title in 1977 and my last world record in 1983 were set indoors.

“Indoor athletics is close-up sport. Spectators are separated by no more than a few feet from the competing athletes. This is why the IAAF World Indoor Tour is important as it helps to promote what is a unique sporting experience.”

For tickets to British Athletics 2017 indoor events visit http://bit.ly/2fU17CA