Overview
- After day one of the meeting on 27–28 June, decathlon world champion Leo Neugebauer led with 4,482 points and set a meeting shot-put record of 16.95 metres while Annik Kälin topped the heptathlon with 3,974 points and a 200m meeting record of 23.00 seconds.
- Organisers introduced broad heat-protection measures including outdoor showers, foot-cooling pools, extra drinks provision and ice vests for athletes, and suspended competition for more than 90 minutes when temperatures climbed into the mid- to high-30s Celsius.
- The heat produced athlete disruptions and withdrawals, with contenders such as Sander Skotheim leaving the competition and some athletes adopting ice bags and cooling vests between events.
- The meeting will conclude on day two with final events such as the decathlon 1,500m deciding overall podiums and Sportschau providing live streaming of the remaining sessions.
- Ratingen’s return after a one-year pause matters because the meeting holds World Athletics Gold-Label status and offers one of the last opportunities to reach European Championships qualifying marks of 6,320 points for the heptathlon and 8,300 for the decathlon.