ECCC XC preview: Olympic star in mixed relay as Turkish clubs seek U20 successes

One month to go to the Albufeira 2024 ECCC Cross Country

<h2>ECCC Cross Country</h2>
The ECCC Cross Country is one of the longest standing and most established cross country fixtures on the calendar, even predating the SPAR European Cross Country Championships by more than three decades.
The first edition of the ECCC Cross Country was held in Arlon, Belgium in 1962 - the venue for the first 13 editions of the championships. But the first event looked and felt very different to the last iteration of the ECCC Cross Country which was held in Oeiras, Portugal.
It was only in 1982 when a women&rsquo;s event was added to the ECCC Cross Country for the first time and the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s competitions were held in different venues until 2005 when the championships became a combined event. Men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s U20 races were added to the programme in 2006 with a mixed relay the latest addition to the timetable in 2021.&nbsp;
Notable past individual winners have included many of the greats of European distance running such as Karel Lismont (1972, 1974, 1979), Carlos Lopes (1977, 1982, 1985), Francesco Panetta (1987-88) and Paulo Guerra (1995-97, 1999) and Sergey Lebid (2001) on the men&rsquo;s side and Albertina Dias (1994-96), Carla Sacramento (1998, 2002) and Fernanda Ribeiro (2005) on the women&rsquo;s side.
The most successful clubs in the senior events are Sporting Clube de Portugal who have won 15 titles in the men&rsquo;s race - including six in a row between 1981-1986 and again between 1989-1994 - and Sporting Braga on the women&rsquo;s side who won seven successive titles between 1987-1993.
At the most recent edition of the ECCC Cross Country in Albufeira in early February, Rodrigue Kwizera and Thierry Ndikumwenayo took a one-two in the senior men's race and led Playas de Castellon to the team title while there was home success for Sporting Clube de Braga who took victories in the mixed relay and the senior women's team race.&nbsp;

Benfica ends Playas de Castellón mixed relay dominance

Kwizera wins again to lead Playas de Castellón defense of team crown

Niyomukunzi dominates senior women's race as Braga take team glory

Medal upgrade for Tunç and Abera dominates in U20 races at 2025 ECCC Cross Country

ECCC XC senior women's preview: Batman, Braga and Bilbao set to do battle for team honours again

ECCC XC senior men's preview: Will Playas de Castellon and Ndikumwenayo repeat in Albufeira?

Final entries published for 2025 ECCC Cross Country

News

Team & Media Information

Past Editions

Next Editions

Results

Start List (version 2)

Final Entries

Timetable

Participating Clubs (at 17 December)

ECCC Cross Country

Playas de Castellon take five ECCC Cross Country titles in Albufeira

Host club Playas de Castell&oacute;n stamped their authority on the 2023 European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country when not only did they defend their senior women&rsquo;s and mixed relay team titles but added the senior men&rsquo;s crown on Sunday (5).
Into the bargain, in a competition where the focus was on team performance, their runners Miriam Benkert and Rodrigue Kwizera took the individual honours in the U20 women&rsquo;s and senior men&rsquo;s races.
Kwizera, from Burundi but based in Spain since 2019, looked well in control of the 8.7km men&rsquo;s senior race from shortly after the gun and although he still had two men accompanying him as the bell sounded for the last 1920m lap the odds were always on him prevailing for a second successive year.
Firstly Benfica&rsquo;s Reuben Longosiwa was soon dropped and while Kwizera's last remaining rival, Oscar Chelimo of the Italian club Casone Noceto dogged hung on for another half-a-lap, Uganda&rsquo;s 2022 World Athletics Championships 5000m bronze medallist didn&rsquo;t have an answer to a subtle but decisive final surge.
He crossed the line in 23:55, having put eight seconds between himself and Chelimo, who like in 2022, had to settle for second again behind Kwizera.
Kwizera&rsquo;s Playas de Castell&oacute;n teammates Aaron Las Heras and Sergio Paniagua finished fifth and sixth to clinch the senior men&rsquo;s team title for the host club with just 12 points while 15-time winners Sporting Clube de Portugal had three scorers in the top 15, led by Vincent Rono in fourth, and finished second for the second year in succession.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/c76ef2fd-d26a-4f1c-84ec-b477eb62d2c8?width=2400&amp;height=1600" alt="Foto 5 2 23, 12 33 40" />
A short while earlier, Playas de Castellon had defended their senior women&rsquo;s title won 12 months ago in Oeiras, Portugal in a very close team contest when their three scorers finished in the top ten.
2022 individual winner Likina Amebew, Naima Ait Alibou and Cristina Espejo came home sixth, ninth and tenth respectively to total 25 points and prevail by just one point over compatriots Adidas with former champions Sporting Clube de Braga just another single point further back in third.
However, if the destination of the team title over 8.7km went to the favourites, the individual victory was a huge shock as Alley Athletics Club South Tel Aviv&rsquo;s Anjelina Nadai Lohalith, originally from South Sudan but who has competed in the 1500m of various major championships as a member of the Athlete Refugee Team, took the honours.&nbsp; Lohalith had ostensibly never before run competitively further than 1500m but showed untapped reserves over the longer distance, she surged on the penultimate lap and was never headed before coming home home in 27:55.
At one stage, Lohalith had built up a lead of 80 metres before Spanish international Irene Sanchez-Escribano closed some of the gap in the final kilometre to come home just five seconds in arrears.
As in 2022, when the event made its debut on programme for this championship, Playas de Castellon dominated the mixed relay almost from the gun, fielding the same quarter and in the same order as in Oeiras a year ago.
Abderrahman El Khayami gave the host club a six-second lead at the first changeover after a leg of 1450m, with five other closely matched teams battling for second place, before 2021 European Athletics U20 Championships 1500m bronze medallist Mireya Arnedillo consolidated Playas de Castellon&rsquo;s advantage with the fastest second leg of the day to extend her club&rsquo;s lead to 10 seconds over Sporting Clube de Portugal, who were now a clear second.
Victor Ruiz, who set personal bests of 3:37.86 and 8:16.42 for the 1500m and 3000m steeplechase last summer, produced a flying third leg of 3:49 &ndash; like all the runners having to cover more than 200 metres of beach as well as three small steeplechase-like obstacles on the twisting course &ndash; to add another four seconds to the lead and give Uganda&rsquo;s 2022 World Athletics Championships 1500m finalist Winnie Nanyondo the relatively easy task of bringing her club home as champions.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/18976171-315e-4cc8-8f49-85953f8ddd94?width=4000&amp;height=2667" alt="Foto 5 2 23, 12 45 26" />
Despite going very briefly off circuit and stumbling on a short sandy descent, Nanyondo&rsquo;s class shone through and she also ran the fastest time on her lap to help her club across the line in 16:10, 16 seconds in front of Sporting Clube de Portugal with Swiss club LG Regensdorf coming through for a surprise bronze.
The U20 &nbsp;women&rsquo;s titles went to Playas de Castellon&rsquo;s Spanish 2023 U20 cross country champion Miriam Benkert who started to run away from her rivals just before the bell and eventually won over the 5.8km race in 19:18, coming home 10 seconds clear of Fenebahce&rsquo;s Edibe Yagiz, the latter having just turned 17 two weeks ago and still eligible to compete in this category for another two years. Both women might well duel again for continental honours at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Jerusalem this coming August.
French U20 cross country international Margot Dajoux coulld be part of that contest as well, and also has another year in this category, but was third in this competition for the second year in succession for C. A. Auvergne.
Behind the women getting places on the podium were the trio representing defending team champions Mica Roma from Romania, with Mihaela Maria Blaga, Alexandra Maria Hudea and Iulia Florina Marginean coming home fourth, fifth and sixth respectively &nbsp;&ndash; the reverse order to the way they finished in 2022 &ndash; to tally and 15 points and take home a second set of gold medals to the club&rsquo;s home city of Blaj in Transylvania.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/24044624-c770-40d0-9c30-f507bf3abbfb?width=2400&amp;height=1600" alt="Foto 5 2 23, 11 56 30 (1)" />
2018 and 2019 U20 women&rsquo;s winners Fenerbahce had to settle for second this time despite having their three scorers in the top 12 finishers and totalling 24 points, which in many previous years would have been good enough to win.
The U20 men&rsquo;s individual title went to Uganda&rsquo;s 2022 World University Games cross country champion Dismas Yeko, running for the Spanish club Clinicas Menorca, who was away and clear from the start of the last of the three 1920m laps and even had the luxury of being able to look around and relax over the final few hundred metres. Yeko, who won in 16:47, was such a convincing winner that his four-second advantage over runner up Vivian Delin, running for the Dijon club, was flattering to the Frenchman despite the excellent effort of the latter runner.
Delin crossed the line in 16:51 after an enthralling three-way battle for the silver and bronze which saw Stefano Benzoni, running for Italian club Atletica Valle Brembana, take third in 16:52 and Playas de Castellon&rsquo;s Ruben Olivo given the same time but just losing out on a medal in fourth.
Fenerbahce, having missed out on the U20 women&rsquo;s team honours a short while before, regained the U20 men&rsquo;s team title they last won in 2010 when Caner Can Tunctan, Furkan Mutlu and Cuma Ozcan helped each other in the latter stages of the race and finished in sixth, seventh and eighth place respectively.
Full results can be seen <a href="https://www.conersyslive.net/Results/Schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> while replays of all five races (with English-language commentary) can be viewed via the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/EuropeanAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Athletics YouTube channel</a>.

Playas de Castellón dominate the 2023 ECCC Cross Country with three team titles

Spanish-based Ethiopian distance runner Likina Amebaw took the individual victory in the senior women&rsquo;s race at the ECCC Cross Country in Oeiras, Portugal on Sunday (6) and there was double the reason to celebrate as she also led Playas de Castellon to the team title.
Amebaw broke clear on the last lap of a technically demanding course which featured hills, twists and sandpits to deny the reigning individual champion Fancy Cherono from Kenya a repeat victory in the senior women&rsquo;s 6.4km, 22:13 to 22:27.
Amebaw was amply backed up by her teammates Blanca Fernandez and Cristina Espejo who finished sixth and eight respectively to ensure the team title would return to Castellon along with the individual title. Istanbul BBSK and Bilbao Atletismo Santutxu.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/9eb397d2-19f5-4c65-8ac0-35f9f169e414" alt="S M2 7086" width="3000" height="2000" />
And despite Cherono&rsquo;s best efforts, Sporting Clube de Portugal not only relinquished the team title but also missed out on a place on the podium by two points. Lia Lemos and former European cross country champion Jessica Augusto were their other scorers in 17th and 23nd respectively.
In the senior men&rsquo;s 10km, there was further success for Castellon as in-form Rodrigue Kwizera from Burundi ran out a comfortable winner in 29:27 ahead of Uganda&rsquo;s Oscar Chelimo who was representing Italian-based club Casone Noceto in 29:48.&nbsp;
His brother Jacob Kiplimo, the world half marathon record-holder, was due to compete but did not start. However, Casone Noceto still won team silver behind Ankara Sport Club whose efforts were headed by former European 10,000m champion Polat Kemboi Arikan who finished sixth individually.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/aaa79911-52fd-4f17-8545-fbb5fc3bf885" alt="S M2 6718" width="3000" height="2000" />
Twins Dean and Dylan Casey dominated the U20 men&rsquo;s race and led Ennis Track Athletics Club to a commanding victory in the team race while Finland&rsquo;s European U20 3000m champion Ilona Mononen notched up another significant continental victory in the U20 women&rsquo;s race.
And there was even more success for Playas Castellon in the inaugural mixed relay. Anchored by Uganda&rsquo;s Winnie Nanyondo, the Spanish club won the 4x1600m in 19:31 by exactly half-a-minute from Sporting Club Braga whose team was anchored by rising Portuguese middle distance star Mariana Machado.
Full results <a href="https://lap2go.com/en/event/eccc-cross-country-2022/timetable" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Playas de Castellon dominate at the ECCC Cross Country in Oeiras

European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country

Strong Spanish and Portuguese teams to contend for ECCC Cross Country honours

Castellon's Kwizera going for hat-trick at ECCC Cross Country

Final entries for this year&rsquo;s European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country, which will be staged in the Spanish town of Oropesa del Mar on Sunday 5 February have been published and can be found <a title="Entries" href="https://european-athletics.directus.app/downloads/7d8a56c3-3861-4c25-9bbd-617b024e80c4/ECCC%20XC%202023%20-%20Final%20Entries%20-%20Athletes%20List%20By%20Event.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
In total, 399 athletes from 77 clubs representing 22 countries are entered and will participate in one of the longest-standing and most established cross country fixtures on the calendar.
The ECCC Cross Country will celebrate its 58th edition this year, after being inaugurated in Arlon, Belgium 1962 and nowadays comprises of separate competitions for U20, senior men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s teams representing the national cross country champion and vice-champion clubs of European Athletics Member Federations. The latest addition to the timetable is a mixed relay which was added to the programme for the first time in 2022.
Last year&rsquo;s individual winners in Oeiras, Portugal were Burundi&rsquo;s Rodrigue Kwizera and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Likina Amebaw who both wore the vest of Spanish club Playas de Castellon, and the latter also led her team to victory.
The host club Playas de Castell&oacute;n will put out strong teams in all five races and be defending its continental titles in both the senior women's and mixed relay events.&nbsp;
After all the medals have been presented and the national anthems finished, the final event of the day will be the Total Runner 5K which is designed to be a open trail/cross country race over the same course as used earlier in the day for the five ECCC Cross Country races.
To mark 10 days to go to ECCC, the Castell&oacute;n Provincial Council&nbsp; hosted the press conference on Thursday and the Castell&oacute;n Provincial Council Presdient, Jos&eacute; Mart&iacute;, highlighted the Provincial Council's "firm commitment to sport" and celebrated that "big sporting events put the province on the map."
European Athletics was been represented by Jose Lu&iacute;s de Carlos, European Athletics Honorary Council Member and Project Leader of the event, who has placed special emphasis on the support of local, provincial and regional institutions in developing a first-class event. More details from the press conference (in Spanish) can be found <a title="Press conference details" href="https://atletismecastello.es/presentacion-del-campeonato-de-europa-de-cross-por-clubes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a>
Full details of the event, including course maps and timetable, can be found <a title="Competition page" href=" https://www.european-athletics.com/competitions/eccc-cross-country/team-media-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
The 2023 ECCC Cross Country will be live streamed on the European Athletics <a title="YouTube" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/EuropeanAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube channel</a>.

Final entries published for ECCC Cross Country in Oropesa del Mar

Participating Clubs (at 29 January)

Team Manual (version 31 January)

Course Map

2023 ECCC Cross Country | Men's race replay

2023 ECCC Cross Country | Women's race replay

2023 ECCC Cross Country | Mixed relay replay

2023 ECCC Cross Country | Men's U20 race replay

2023 ECCC Cross Country | Women's U20 race replay

2023 ECCC Cross Country | Replay

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec ut augue suscipit, vestibulum enim non, dapibus ante. Nullam eleifend, massa ut venenatis dictum, libero elit gravida tellus, a vestibulum tortor ipsum non augue. Maecenas ullamcorper volutpat tincidunt. Praesent lorem ex, dignissim id commodo vel, fermentum nec neque. Integer enim purus, blandit vitae libero porta, venenatis tincidunt ipsum. Cras hendrerit quam vel nulla convallis aliquet. Cras placerat odio vitae lacus hendrerit rutrum. Suspendisse eget accumsan nulla, quis ultrices risus. Ut dui mi, porta ac commodo ac, tempor et elit. Nullam velit augue, mattis non elementum sed, luctus ut metus. Maecenas lacus nibh, ornare sed fermentum eget, posuere eget nulla.&nbsp;

ECCC Cross Country | News

The President

Council

Commissions

Head Office

Congress & Convention

Honours

Your Sport For Life

Publications

SPAR has been the principal sponsor of European Athletics since 1996, becoming synonymous with the sport during this period. Athletics is a sport where personal endeavour is combined with team participation to achieve success, and SPAR identifies with this principle through its national partners by ensuring that consumers enjoy shopping at SPAR. SPAR retailers continue to develop the brand through sponsorship awareness and through the critical link with individual athletes who are also customers of independent retailers. SPAR is proud to be involved with European Athletics, an organisation which strives to bring passion and enthusiasm for their sport to viewers, spectators and participants.

SPAR

Eurohold Bulgaria AD is a leading energy and financial group operating mainly in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE). It is listed on the Bulgarian and Warsaw Stock Exchange. Eurohold owns Euroins Insurance Group AD (EIG), one of the largest insurance groups in the region. EIG provides a full range of insurance products, serves over 4 million customers in 13 countries and has over 3000 employees.

Eurohold

Joma Sport is the most important Spanish sports brand, with the highest sales volume worldwide, and is among the top ten global brands. It was founded by Fructuoso López in 1965, and it is present in more than 140 countries.

It is present in multiple sports and at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 Joma equipped 15% of the participating athletes. Within athletics, it sponsors important national and international athletes. Furthermore, it is the technical sponsor of national federations and marathons in different parts of the world.

Joma

Le Gruyère AOP Switzerland began its partnership with European Athletics in 2008 as a top-tier sponsor of all Major Events and the European Athletics U23 and U20  Championships. Le Gruyère is a very high quality natural cheese that has been produced for many centuries in an artisanal method without any additives. VIP guests, athletes and fans have the opportunity to taste this magnificent cheese at European Athletics events sponsored by Le Gruyère AOP Switzerland.

Le Gruyère

Toyo Tires is one of the world's largest tire manufacturers. Toyo Tire Corporation was founded in 1945 in Osaka, Japan. In 1975, the manufacturer opened its European headquarters in Germany. The product range includes winter, summer and all-season tyres for motor vehicles as well as van tyres and special off-road products. The philosophy of Toyo Tires is to combine driving pleasure with top performance. This is reflected in each of the products, as well as in its close partnership with European Athletics.

Toyo Tires

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has been the Official Broadcast Partner of European Athletics since 1981. During this 40-year partnership, the outstanding collaboration between both organisations has always been focused on developing European Athletics into a more attractive product for television, spectators and athletes. Through its operational department Eurovision Services, the EBU is continuously working to promote athletics by offering the most comprehensive coverage of European Athletics events all over Europe.

Conica has been developing and manufacturing innovative seamless flooring solutions for sports, games and leisure for over 40 years and is one of the world's market leaders and innovation drivers in this field.  The user-oriented requirements for technical and sports functional performance as well as usability while guaranteeing the health aspects of the material itself, and for the user, are the focus of Conica's product development.  Conica is part of the Serafin group of companies based in Munich, Germany.

Conica

Polanik is a family company, founded by Wiesław Szczepanik in 1966. It produces athletics equipment having over thousand products in the offer. Polanik fully equips stadiums all over the world and handles the highest-level athletics events. Stars of athletics beat world records using Polanik products. Polanik is held in high regard by many for top quality and advisory services for designers and investors of athletics stadiums.

Polanik

Opened in 1909 and magnificently restored, the Hotel Royal Savoy Lausanne combines Art Nouveau and modernity with genuine panache. Featuring tailor-made service and unbeatable comfort, this legendary venue is located a short walk from the shores of Lac Leman and offers every guest the absolute luxury of feeling truly at home. The Hotel Royal Savoy is proud to be the Preferred Hotel Partner of European Athletics in Lausanne since 2016, offering valuable support and accommodation services to European Athletics business activities throughout the year.

Hotel Royal Savoy Lausanne

The first companies of Würth MODYF Group were founded in Künzelsau, Germany and Neumarkt, Italy in 1997 as an independent subsidiary of the Würth Group and can thus look back on more than 25 years of experience in the field of workwear and safety footwear.

Würth MODYF Group currently operates companies in ten countries and has more than 400 employees in Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland. Smaller sales units support Würth MODYF’s customers in Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium. Würth MODYF Group is continuing to expand internationally, opening new branches all over Europe.

Würth MODYF Group

Haku ERCH 2025

Tracx ERCH 2025

Watergroep ERCH 2025

Stella Artois ERCH 2025

Polestar ERCH 2025

Coca-Cola ERCH 2025

Staatsloterij

Sportnieuws

Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport

TeamNL

Province of Gelderland

NB ERCH 2025

Athletic Ventures

6D ERCH 2025

Apeldoorn is one of the greenest cities in the Netherlands and among the largest municipalities in Gelderland. It is a mid-size city with a population of approximately 161,000. Apeldoorn has a charming and lively inner city and a young, sports-minded population.

The town is easily accessible by car (A1 motorway) and train. The proximity of large cities such as Utrecht (59 kilometre) and Amsterdam (75 kilometre) and its space and tranquillity make Apeldoorn one of the most popular cities in the Netherlands. The area mainly consists of woods and heath-lands and is a popular destination for tourism, in particular hiking and cycling.

The Dutch royal family has always had close ties with the city. Apeldoorn is home to the stately Loo Palace, the former summer residence of the Dutch royal family and nowadays a national museum. Apeldoorn is possibly the most athletic-minded city in the Netherlands.

ECCC Cross Country News

Latest News

Benfica ends Playas de Castellón mixed relay dominance

Kwizera wins again to lead Playas de Castellón defense of team crown

Niyomukunzi dominates senior women's race as Braga take team glory

Medal upgrade for Tunç and Abera dominates in U20 races at 2025 ECCC Cross Country

ECCC XC senior women's preview: Batman, Braga and Bilbao set to do battle for team honours again

ECCC XC senior men's preview: Will Playas de Castellon and Ndikumwenayo repeat in Albufeira?

ECCC XC preview: Olympic star in mixed relay as Turkish clubs seek U20 successes

Final entries published for 2025 ECCC Cross Country

Reports

Benfica ends Playas de Castellón mixed relay dominance

Kwizera wins again to lead Playas de Castellón defense of team crown

Medal upgrade for Tunç and Abera dominates in U20 races at 2025 ECCC Cross Country

Playas de Castellon take five ECCC Cross Country titles in Albufeira

Playas de Castellón dominate the 2023 ECCC Cross Country with three team titles

Playas de Castellon dominate at the ECCC Cross Country in Oeiras

Team News and Previews

Final entries published for 2025 ECCC Cross Country

Strong Spanish and Portuguese teams to contend for ECCC Cross Country honours

Castellon's Kwizera going for hat-trick at ECCC Cross Country

Final entries published for ECCC Cross Country in Oropesa del Mar

Features

ECCC XC preview: Olympic star in mixed relay as Turkish clubs seek U20 successes

One month to go to the Albufeira 2024 ECCC Cross Country