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The 30th anniversary edition of the Banská Bystrica High Jump Meeting will be packed with stars. The brightest among them will be the Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim, who holds the meeting record with a performance of 240 cm. The Olympic champion will return to Banská Bystrica after 6 years, having won in 2013 (236 cm) and 2015 (240 cm) while securing the second position in 2018 (236 cm). In total, he has earned three world championship titles (in addition to silver and bronze), two Olympic silvers, and the World indoor champion title (in addition to silver). He has cleared 240 cm or more thirteen times throughout his career.

"Great to be back in Banska after some time. I remember in 2015 it was first 240 of my career indoors there. I always remember great crowd support and loud music. Actually, the last time I competed indoors was in 2018, so it has been 6 years. I want to enjoy the competition and jump high. It will be an important step for me in preparation for the rest of the season", commented Barshim.

The men's competition will feature, alongside the already announced names like Luis Zayas and Edgar Rivera, several other outstanding jumpers such as Andriy Protsenko and Norbert Kobielski. For instance, the Ukrainian high jumper has participated in the Banská Bystrica High Jump Meeting five times already. He finished second twice - in 2015 (233 cm) and 2023 (232 cm). In 2021, he secured third place (228 cm), followed by a shared fourth place in the subsequent year (225 cm). In his debut in 2009, he finished eleventh (220 cm). Notably, he boasts six medals from world and European championships, both indoor and outdoor.

Norbert Kobielski, in contrary, has only participated once in the Banská Bystrica in 2023. In his debut, the Polish athlete cleared 220 cm, securing a shared tenth place. In the closing stage of the last season, Kobielski improved to 233 cm, finishing second in the Diamond League final.

Not only the men's but also the women's competition will offer the audience a tremendous show. Beside already announced Irina Gerashchenko, the spotlights will be on Eleanor Patterson, Angelina Topić, and Morgan Lake. Australian Patterson holds the best personal record (202 cm) from the trio. She opened up her indoor season in Banská Bystrica in 2022 and unexpectedly triumphed with a performance of 199 cm. In 2022, she became the world champion.

The young Serbian athlete clinched victory at the European Junior Championships this year, achieving an impressive 197 cm jump, making her one of the competition's favorites.

Lake from Britain, who finished fourth at the World Championships in Budapest, also stands as a contender with a personal best of 199 cm. Interestingly, it will be her second appearance at the Banská Bystrica High Jump Meeting, as she jumped 188 cm and secured 7th place during her debut in 2016.

Both competitions will also provide athletes with a great opportunity to achieve the entry standards for the World Indoor Championships 2024 in Glasgow (234 and 198), the European Championships 2024 in Rome (226 and 192), and the Olympic Games in Paris (233 and 197), as well as to earn crucial points for the qualification rankings

The ticket sales will commence in January. The live broadcast is being prepared by RTVS Šport. European Athletics will stream the event via their broadcasting platform.

So far, men from 47 countries and women from 35 countries have competed in Banská Bystrica, totaling 54 countries represented. In the last edition, Jamaica and Estonia were added among the women, and New Zealand, the Netherlands, Australia, and Switzerland among the men.

The participants of the BBL 2023 secured gold and silver in men´s and gold and bronze in women´s competition at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul. At World Championships in Budapest, there were five male participants from the BBL 2023 in the final, as well as four female participants.

 

If met the required level of performance, the best Slovak jumpers will also be provided with opportunity to compete.