Celebrating 30 years of European Cross Country Champs

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This year marks 30 years since the championships first took place in Alnwick

The SPAR European Cross Country Championships is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, set to take place in Antalya, Turkey, on December 8.

The prestigious event first debuted in 1994 at Alnwick Castle in the UK, a location famously known for its role as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films.

Since the first edition, the championships have gone from strength to strength, taking place every year, apart from 2020, in the European Athletics calendar.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Mark Shearman)

In 1994, the competition featured only senior men’s and women’s races, a sharp contrast to today’s more diverse format, which includes under-23, under-20, and mixed relay categories.

The first-ever European cross country champion was Portugal’s Paulo Guerra, who clinched victory by 16 seconds, also leading his team to a gold medal. His team-mate, Domingos Castro, took second place, while Spain’s Antonio Serrano secured the bronze.

Interestingly, Guerra nearly withdrew from the race just days before the event, as reported by AW in 1994: “He was concerned about a sinus problem.” In hindsight, his decision to compete paid off.

The women’s race saw a memorable victory for Ireland’s Catherina McKiernan, who was determined to take the gold after her streak of three runner-up finishes at the World Championships.

AW Archive 1994

Spain’s Julia Vaquero finished just one second behind McKiernan as Romania’s Elena Fidatov took the bronze. Romania also triumphed in the team standings, narrowly edging out France and Portugal by just two points.

Over the years, the championships have seen many of Europe’s greatest distance runners claim gold. In the late 1990s, Paula Radcliffe made her mark, winning in 1998 and 2003, while Hayley Yelling also triumphed for Great Britain in both 2004 and 2009.

In 2014, Gemma Steel led Great Britain to a historic one-two finish in the women’s race, alongside Kate Avery, as the team topped the medal table.

Gemma Steel beats Kate Avery to gold (Mark Shearman)

On the men’s side, Mo Farah secured his first senior title at the 2006 championships, marking the beginning of his legendary cross country career.

More recently, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen has dominated the senior men’s event, winning back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. Ingebrigtsen, who missed last year’s competition due to injury, will look to defend his title in Turkey this December.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen to race European Cross Country Champs in Turkey

The under-20 races were introduced in 1997, with athletes like Ingebrigtsen (2016-2019) and Karoline Njerkeli Grøvdal (2009), Nadia Battocletti (2018-2019) and Britain’s Innes FitzGerald (2023) making their mark on the international stage.

The under-23 category was added in 2006, with Britain’s Will Barnicoat and Megan Keith both winning the gold last year.

Will Barnicoat (Getty)

The mixed relay event debuted most recently in 2017. Last year, the mixed relay was won by France in dramatic fashion, defeating Great Britain and the Netherlands to take the title.

Look out for coverage of this weekend’s 2024 event on our website. You can also find all of our original coverage from the European Cross Country Championships, dating back to 1994, via the Athletics Weekly archive.

From the first ever issue in December 1945 through to the present day, current subscribers to our magazine are able to dip into this resource for free whereas non-subscribers can pay just £3.99 per month for full access.