Olomouc GP Preview: All eyes on historic women's Grand Prix

The city of Olomouc, a historical region in the eastern Czechia, is set to make history as it hosts the first all-women’s Grand Prix at the TJ Lokomotiva Olomouc stadium from 3 to 4 July (Thursday and Friday). It is also the first time that Czechia hosts a World Para Athletics Grand Prix.

A total of 173 athletes from 46 nations across four continents will come together in pursuit of glory at this unique event, which is organised by Atleticky Klub Olomouc with the support of the Czech Prime Minister, the City of Olomouc, Olomouc region, Palacky University and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Czechia.

How to follow? 

The final Grand Prix of the season will be in spotlight owing to its unique women’s only event and being the last WPA event ahead of September’s World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi. 

The objective is to provide more elite sporting opportunities for female athletes and inspire and encourage more investment in girls and women in Para athletics.

The Olomouc GP will be streamed live on YouTube and live results will be available here.

Home team 

The home team is set to field the largest delegation with 16 athletes, while Uzbekistan lead among the visitors (13) followed by Turkiye and Mexico with 12 each, and Haiti and Tunisia, with seven athletes each.

Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist in women’s shot put F35 Anna Luxova and Eva Berna, a veteran four-time Paralympic medallist in the women’s shot put F37 (from Athens 2004 to Rio 2016) spearhead the home squad aiming for glory in front of home fans.

“It's the first Grand Prix in Czechia, so I'm looking forward to it. Competing on home soil is always nice. It's a premiere for all of us, so I hope it will be a successful one,” the 28-year-old told the Olomouc Grand Prix LOC. “I fondly remember [competing here] in 2012, which was my first major sporting success and motivation for further competitions. I regularly participate in the Czech Open, only missing once due to surgery.”

“The highlight of this season is the World Championships in India. Since the season is long, the goal is to avoid injuries and stay healthy,” added Luxova, who will be in search of her first World Championships medal in New Delhi. 
 
An intriguing contest is also in the cards in the women’s shot put F35, as Luxova will be in front of a familiar face – Great Britain’s Anna Nicholson – in Olomouc. The Brit finished with the bronze at Paris 2024 while Luxova had to settle for the fourth place.

They will be joined by newcomers such as 16-year-old Ada Boudnikova, the youngest athlete in the Czech delegation who will compete in the women’s 100m T47, 200m T47 and women’s javelin F46.

Otherwise, it’s USA’s Brookly Gossard who will be the youngest athlete at the all-women's Grand Prix at only 14. She will take on four events in her international debut - women's 100m, 400m, 800m and 1500m T54 events.

March 8 is about breaking barriers, and so is the Olomouc Grand Prix✨

From 3-5 July, 🇨🇿Olomouc will host the first-ever women-only Para Athletics Grand Prix, a stage built to increase opportunities for women in the sport.

#ParaAthletics #InternationalWomensDay #IWD2025 pic.twitter.com/ig2wcULQxy

— Para Athletics (@ParaAthletics) March 8, 2025

Paralympic champions 

There will be plenty of Paris 2024 Paralympic stars who will be grabbing the spotlight in Olomouc. 

For the African continent, Tunisia’s Raoua Tlili and South Africa’s Simone Kruger will be leading the show. 

Tlili is an eight-time Paralympic champion and 11-time world champion who will be competing in her third GP of the season following Paris and Tunis. In Olomouc, she will be competing in women’s discus throw F41 and women’s shot put F41.

Kruger is a Paris 2024 gold medallist in the women’s discus throw F38 – also a world record holder in the event (38.82m) and two-time world champion (Kobe 2024 and Paris 2023). This week, she will be in action in two events – women’s discus and women’s shot put F38.

Tlili’s teammate Maroua Ibrahmi, a four-time Paralympic champion will also be in action. She will be competing in the women’s shot put and club throw F32, an event she clinched the gold in Paris. 

Among others, Nassima Saifi of Algeria will be another star to watch out for in the women’s discus throw and shot put F57. She is a three-time Paralympic champion in the discus throw (Paris 2024, Rio 2016 and London 2012, silver at Tokyo 2020) and two-time Paralympic medallist in the shot put (bronze in Paris and silver in Rio).

Italy’s Ambra Sabatini, world record holder in the women’s 100m T63 (13.98), is another star coming to Olomouc as she will be competing in this event besides the women’s long jump. She is also a one-time Paralympic champion (Tokyo 2020) and one-time world champion (Paris 2023) in the 100m T63.

ITALIAN AURA 🌟
🇮🇹 Ambra Sabatini, the young Italian superstar of the 100m T63, will be shining at the All-Women's Grand Prix in Olomouc! From July 3 to July 5, the world’s top female athletes will come together to make history 💫#ParaAthletics pic.twitter.com/oZTDSP1bfW

— Para Athletics (@ParaAthletics) June 26, 2025

Experience and Youth

From the Americas, USA will bring six athletes, including experienced veterans like three-time Paralympic medallist Cassie Mitchell alongside teenage talent Gossard.

Mitchell will be competing in the women’s discus throw and women’s club throw F51 events – an event she has two Paralympic medals. 

The GP will mark the encounter of different generations of female Para athletes, such as Martina Willing of Germany, a thrower who has three Paralympic gold and 12 Paralympic medals to her name between Barcelona 1992 and Rio 2016.

Adding to the list of veterans will be local hero Eva Kacanu, now 60 and Olomouc’s own legend as a gold medallist from the Beijing 2008 Paralympics. Kacanu will be up in action in women’s shot put, discus and javelin F54 events.

Event highlight

Olomouc, a city of over 100,000 citizens located in Moravia, is eagerly awaiting to witness the first-ever WPA event in the country. 

To celebrate the inaugural all-women's Grand Prix, the Local Organising Committee will be awarding prize money for the top three performances in five categories: seated throws, ambulatory throws, racing chairs, ambulatory track, and jumps.

Athletes will be ranked based on achieved percentage of the athletes' performances against the world record in their respective class. The top three results will receive 750 EUR, 500 EUR and 250 EUR respectively.

More information about the Olomouc 2025 World Para Athletics Grand Prix is available here.