They are defined by a unique, high-quality blend of explosive strength, precise technique, immense power, speed, and mental focus. Always special, unpredictable, and authentic. Shot putters — protagonists of one of the most demanding athletic disciplines with strict technical requirements — will once again present themselves in an outstanding line-up as part of the 11th […]
They are defined by a unique, high-quality blend of explosive strength, precise technique, immense power, speed, and mental focus. Always special, unpredictable, and authentic. Shot putters — protagonists of one of the most demanding athletic disciplines with strict technical requirements — will once again present themselves in an outstanding line-up as part of the 11th Belgrade Indoor Meeting.
The Serbian Athletic Federation is proud to host, year after year, one of the biggest indoor meetings in the opening phase of the competitive season. As one of only eight meetings worldwide holding World Athletics Gold status, the Belgrade Indoor Meeting will take place on February 11, 2026, at the Banjica Athletics Hall, starting at 2:30 PM, bringing together the elite of world athletics — reigning champions and global stars.
Special focus will be on the “strong men” — shot putters who are elite athletes with incredible reflexes and spatial awareness. The audience will have the opportunity to enjoy performances by five world-class athletes who have thrown the 7.26 kg iron ball beyond 22 meters.
Polish shot putter Konrad Bukowiecki won the silver medal at the 2018 European Championships, gold medals at the European U23 Championships in 2017 and 2019, and gold at the 2017 European Indoor Championships. In 2014, at just 17 years of age, Bukowiecki became World Junior Champion, followed by the European Junior title the next year. That same season, he was named European Men’s Rising Star of the Year. He is the Polish indoor record holder and a four-time national champion.
American shot putter Jordan Geist won the silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. He claimed gold at the 2017 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships in Trujillo, Peru. In 2023, Geist became NCAA Indoor Shot Put Champion at the championships held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Josh Olayinka Awotunde, an American shot putter, owns personal bests of 22.47 m outdoors and 21.74 m indoors. He became U.S. Champion in 2025 with a throw of 22.47 m. By winning the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships, Awotunde confirmed his place among the world’s elite.
Chukwuebuka Cornnell Enekwechi, born in the United States but competing internationally for Nigeria, is the silver medalist from the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the current African champion in shot put. He won gold at the 2019 African Games and is also the reigning Nigerian national champion.
Roger Steen is another standout from the strong American contingent of shot putters. Before dedicating himself fully to athletics, he played American football. Steen gained his first major international success in 2022 by winning gold at the U.S. Championships in Freeport, Bahamas, with a throw of 20.78 m. He also claimed victory at the Padova Meeting with 21.38 m in September 2022. In May 2023, he achieved his personal best of 22.08 m in Tucson, Arizona. At the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, Steen recorded a throw of 21.62 m, earning the silver medal.
In addition to these five athletes with throws exceeding 22 meters, the battle for the throne at the Banjica Athletics Hall will also feature: Swede Viktor Petersson, silver medalist at the 2025 European Indoor Championships with 21.04 m; Mexican Uziel Muñoz Galarza, silver medalist at the 2025 World Championships, becoming the first Mexican ever to achieve this in shot put; Italy’s Zane Weir, gold medalist at the 2023 European Indoor Championships; and Serbia’s own champion and national record holder Armin Sinančević, gold medalist at the 2022 Mediterranean Games and silver medalist at the 2022 European Outdoor Championships in Munich.
A true spectacle awaits, and there is no doubt that the stands at the Banjica Athletics Hall on February 11, 2026, will once again be filled to capacity. The world’s elite of the “queen of sports” are ready to write new chapters of history, set new records, and deliver an unforgettable sporting story. Shot putters are athletes who never leave us indifferent — athletic giants with soft hearts and powerful arms.
World-class athletes will fill the Belgrade Athletic Hall at Banjica on February 11, when the Belgrade Indoor Meeting will be held for the 11th consecutive year. Fans can expect a unique athletics spectacle, as alongside international stars of the “queen of sports,” Serbia’s top athletes will also showcase their skill and strength on the competition […]
Serbia’s top athletics stars will gather in one place with the same mission and goal: winning the Belgrade Indoor Meeting and building momentum while chasing qualification standards for the 2026 World Indoor Championships, to be held in March in Toruń, Poland. On February 11, the Belgrade Athletics Hall will host the elite of domestic and […]