700 athletes had completed a whirlwind of 44 medal events, with the Moscow region topping the medal table (Photos: Media India Group/Garima Sharma)
The 2025 PSB Russian Track & Field Championships concluded on Sunday at Kazan’s Central Stadium, marking the end of four days of spirited competitions in 44 disciplines in which 700 Russian athletes participated.
The final day of the championships delivered a fitting climax to the four-day competition, with packed stands, record-breaking performances and a tight battle for regional supremacy. By the time the last medal was awarded and the closing ceremony began, 700 athletes had completed a whirlwind of 44 medal events, with the Moscow region topping the medal table.
The afternoon session began with the awarding of medals from the previous day, with champions in the men’s javelin throw, the 400m, and the gruelling 10,000 m distance walk in both men’s and women’s categories receiving ovations. A light-hearted “show race” followed, a mixed-format exhibition run designed to warm up the crowd, but soon enough the serious business returned.
The first final of the day on the field was the women’s hammer throw, which saw defending champion Pankina Sofia of Samara region producing her best form of the season. On her fourth attempt, she hurled the hammer to 73.85m, enough to bag the gold even though it fell far short of Polish champion Anita Włodarczyk’s world record of 82.98m.
But Sofia’s consistency across her series pushed her comfortably ahead of Anastasiya Grigoryeva with a distance of 70.78m from Moscow Region and bronze medallist Elena Soboleva with a distance of 67.95m from Republic of Belarus. As Belarusian athletes are also banned from competing internationally, the Russian Federation invites them to compete in their national championships as Russia has an agreement with Belarus.
On the track, the women’s 200m semifinals began with pre-meet favourite Yulia Karavayeva cruising through in 23.04 seconds. The men’s semifinals followed, where Danil Roslyakov of St. Petersburg with a time of 21.04 seconds into a slight headwind, setting the stage for a strong competition in the final.
Next were the pole vault finals, where the women’s competition was led by the in-form Polina Knoroz. She cleared 4.86m to win the gold medal. This was her personal best and was close to Yelena Isinbayeva’s world record of 5.06m. The silver went to Tatyana Kalinina with 4.55m and bronze to Irina Mikhailova with 4.45m.
“I want to prove to myself that I can perform at least as well as the world’s top stars. And even though I do not have the opportunity to compete on the international stage, I can still achieve world-class results here in Russia. When I don’t have the chance to compete against other world champions, I focus on doing my absolute best,” Knoroz told Media India Group after bagging the top spot.
Vitaliy Parakhonko claimed gold with the time of 13.63 seconds in Men’s 110m hurdles, nearly half a second off Aries Merritt’s world record of 12.80 seconds. Sergey Shubenkov, the celebrated veteran, took silver with a time of 13.69 seconds, proving his enduring class and experience. Third place went to up-and-coming Semyon Manakov, who clocked 13.80 seconds.
“This has been a very important race for me as I got injured in April. This has been a short season but I have worked really hard. And I had be at the podium to prove a chance and I did and that is why I am very happy about it,” Shubenkov told Media India Group after his win.
As dusk approached, the middle-distance finals drew loud roars from the stands. The men’s 1500m final saw a tactical race explode in the final lap, with Egor Limonov surging late to win in 3:40.74, barely ahead of silver medallist Vladyslav Podzvezdov, who got in with a time of 3:40.81. Despite their effort, both the athletes, remain well off the world record of 3:26.00 set by Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj.
The women’s race was equally fierce, Svetlana Aplachkina clocked 4:06.59 for victory, powering ahead of Liliya Mendayeva in the final stretch who secured the second position with a time of 4:06.83. However, the Russians remain considerably slower than Faith Kipyegon’s world record time of 3:48.68 set earlier this year.
The relays brought their usual electricity. The women’s 4×400 m relay final saw the Moscow Region storm to a victory with the time of 3:31.26, sealing both gold and the regional team medal tally lead. The men’s race was another highlight, where Irkutsk’s foursome clocked 3:15.56 to edge Samara Region by less than four second in a thrilling anchor leg duel.
The final award ceremony honoured the winning 4×400 m relay teams, and the concluding presentations brought together champions in the women’s pole vault, men’s and women’s 200 m, women’s triple jump, men’s hammer throw, men’s high jump, women’s 100 m hurdles, men’s 110 m hurdles and the men’s 10,000 m race walk.
At the end of the championships, the Moscow Region emerged as the most dominant squad, finishing with 14 golds, 9 silvers and 11 bronzes, narrowly edging Saint Petersburg in total medals.