Despite Injuries and Withdrawals Track Fans Uplift World Indoor Championships to a New High

A year packed with Olympic hope detoured to Glasgow’s Emirates Arena from March 1–3, where the 19th World Athletics Indoor Championships were held. The 2024 World Indoor Championship Series got underway with this event. However, many athletes hoping to represent their countries in Paris cut short their journey succumbing to injuries resulting in withdrawals.

Relentless in the face of misfortune, the three days of intense competition not only paved the way for the 2024 Paris Olympics but also inspired a passionate celebration of track and field athletics among millions of fans across the globe.

World Indoor Championships witnessed a massive view count

Glasgow’s exquisite athletic extravaganza featured athletes from 128 countries and attracted almost 22,000 ticketed spectators from 37 countries. Athleticism was at its peak with 2 world records, 5 championship records, 10 area records, and an astounding 54 national records set in the Scottish city. “Around five million viewers from the UK tuned into the World Indoor Championships,” @AthleticsWeekly shared on X. 

Post further highlighted, “The event was live on BBC 2 across the three days in Glasgow; It was the third time that Great Britain has hosted a World Indoors after Birmingham in 2003 and 2018.” According to World Athletics, viewers from Europe, particularly those from Belgium, Italy, Finland, and Spain, made a major contribution, underlining the World Indoor Championships’ widespread appeal.

Going by the numbers Belgium topped the chart with more than 4.5 million viewers. A combined audience of five and a half million streamed the three-day event live from the UK and Ireland. While the World Athletics website saw an astounding 40% increase in traffic compared to the 2022 edition. Despite the success, unfortunate injuries and withdrawal from the event clouded the route to glory for many athletes.

Non-glorious highlight of the athletic event

Fans were saddened when American sprinter Aleia Hobbs had to quit before her race following a calf injury. French pole vaulter Margot Chevrier had a terrifying experience when she crashed into the barrier after clearing 4.55 meters in the finals, breaking her ankle ‘with bone sticking out’.

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GB’s Callum Elson paused mid-run with a lower leg injury during the Men’s 1500m Round 1 Heats. Meanwhile, Spain’s Maria Vicente, a tough pentathlon seed suffered a fatal Achilles tear while performing the high jump, ending her Paris Olympics hopes. Vicente will soon undergo surgery, but promised to bounce back stronger—these stories reflect on the unpredictable nature of their respective sport leaving some in tears while others leave the ground with a comeback promise.

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