Reigning world indoor 400m champion Lurdes Gloria Manuel is aiming to replicate this success on the continental stage at the 2027 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain from 4-7 March.
The Czech star made history by becoming the youngest ever winner of the world indoor 400m title in Torun this March although she is still targeting an elusive senior medal on the European stage.
Only 21, Manuel finished fourth in intensely competitive 400m finals at both the 2024 and 2026 European Athletics Championships. Manuel finished fourth again at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn in a race won by her training partner Lieke Klaver although she did have the consolation of anchoring Czechia to a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay.
In an in-depth interview with Czech Athletics, her coach Laurent Meuwly confirms Valencia 2027 features in her racing plans where individual and relay medals are the objective.
"If the preparation goes according to plan, we are counting on a standard indoor season, the main goal of which will be the European Indoor Championships in Valencia. The ambition will be to win an individual medal and possibly another with the relay.
"After that, we want to put together the outdoor season in such a way that Lurdes stays fresh and is in top form in September at the World Championships in Beijing. There, our goal will be to advance to the top eight," said Meuwly.
Manuel made big advancements outdoors this year, becoming just the third Czech in history to run under 50 seconds for 400m, a feat which she achieved five times, including in the semifinals of the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham where she clocked 49.81 to seal her place in the final.
But such was the quality and depth of the women's 400m in Birmingham, Manuel was dealt a somewhat unfavourite draw of lane eight in the final in which she finished a distant fourth in a race dominated by Norway’s Henriette Jaeger who won gold in 49.04.
"My coach and I discussed the race thoroughly and there were several things that were against me. I wanted to fight for a medal, but also because I had no competition in front of me, I started too fast. It was also quite cold and I run well in the heat," said Manuel on the post-race debrief.
Beijing via Bydgoszcz
Looking ahead to the outdoor season which culminates with the World Championships in Beijing in mid-September, Meuwly has also suggested the European Athletics U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland from 22-25 July could be another important step on the road to Beijing.
"Lurdes has to gradually learn to handle a long season with several important peaks. That's something that comes mainly with experience. We will probably also include the European U23 Championship in the programme but we don't want to decide yet in which discipline Lurdes will compete there," said Meuwly on her racing plans.
After a long and arduous season during which she raced 23 times, Manuel will resume full training for the 2027 season in mid-October at her training base in Papendal in the Netherlands under Meuwly’s expert tutelage.
An exciting addition to his ever-expanding and diverse training group which famously features Femke Broeders-Bol is Manuel’s Czech compatriot Michal Rada, the reigning world and European U20 400m hurdles champion who is one of three finalists for the men’s Rising Star award at the Golden Tracks in Lausanne on 25 October.
"We are both from the south of Bohemia, so we know each other quite well. I hope he will like the group, and I am especially looking forward to seeing how he will adapt to the training. We speak English with everyone, so it is nice that now I will have someone there with whom I can speak Czech," said Manuel.