The first IAAF Indoor Permit meeting will take place on Sunday the 27 January in the Moscow Indoor Arena named after the double Olympic champion Vladimir Kutz.

Last year the meeting was ranked among the first five indoor competitions of the season 2006-2007.

This year athletes will compete in 13 events with the women’s Long Jump event taking centre stage despite the absence of the glorified Tatyana Lebedeva.

Quality field in women's Long Jump

World indoor season leader Irina Simigina, Tatyana Kotova who won three World Indoor Championships,  European champion Tatyana Kolchanova,  World Junior champion Darya Klishina and the guest from the USA, 2005 World champion Tianna Madison will take part in the competition.

It is expected that Simigina who is in excellent form may pass the 7 metre mark.

Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy is always second to none in the 800m. This time he will run in the strong company of well-prepared opponents. Among them are his permanent rivals, World Indoor champion Wilfred Bungei of Kenya, Ali Belal Mansur of Bahrain, and European indoor champion and friend Dmitriy Bogdanov.

The High Jump sector will also present a quality field with several Russian specialists. Among the contenders are the leader of this indoor season Ivan Oukhov, Andrei Silnov, Yaroslav Rybakov, Vyacheslav Voronin and Andrei Tereshin. Two distinguished guests will also aim at winning – 2005 World champion Yuriy Krimarenko of Ukraine and African champion Kabelo Krocuemant of Botswana.

Osaka 1500m silver medallist, Yelena Soboleva will line up in the Mile and will attempt to lower the seven year old national record.      

Other events in the programme are: 60m (men and women), 200m and 600m (women), 400m (men), long jump (men).

Nickolai Dolgopolov and Rostislav Orlov for the IAAF