Final entries published for 2022 SPAR European Cross Country Championships

Preview | Can anyone dethrone Ingebrigtsen in the shadow of La Mandria Castle?

Preview | Reigning champion Grøvdal renews rivalry with Can and Klosterhalfen in La Mandria Park 

Preview | Italy poised to challenge the Brits for mixed relay gold in La Mandria Park

Preview | Home favourite Battocletti to target fourth successive title in La Mandria Park

Preview | Rising Nordic talents to clash in the U20 races in La Mandria Park

Flashback to Chia 2016 | The arrival of Jakob Ingebrigtsen

<h2>SPAR European Cross Country Championships</h2>
<p dir="ltr">This 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships was held in Antalya, T&uuml;rkiye and marked the 30th edition of a championships which was added to the programme in 1994.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Jakob Ingebrigtsen maintained his unbeaten run at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships, winning his seventh individual gold medal and his third senior gold medal, beating Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa who returned to the podium individually for the first time since 2019.</p>
<p dir="ltr">His teammate Nadia Battocletti made history by becoming the first woman in championship history to win titles individually across all three age-groups, upgrading her silver medal from 2023 to gold in 2024. There was also gold for Italy in the mixed relay.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Once again, Great Britain topped the medal table in Antalya. The Brits won three individual gold medals with Innes FitzGerald and Will Barnicoat defending their women's U23 and men's U20 titles with Phoebe Anderson making it a GB double in the women's U23 race.</p>
<p dir="ltr">After missing out on U20 gold last year, 2024 Rising Star Niels Laros from the Netherlands made amends by kicking to an expected victory in the men's U20 race.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Intriguingly, Great Britain have now won 199 medals in SPAR European Cross Country Championships history which means someone will have the honour of picking up their 200th medal at the 2025 edition which takes place in&nbsp;Lagoa, Portugal.&nbsp;</p>
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Mixed relay replay | Antalya 2024

Senior women's race replay | Antalya 2024

Senior men's race replay | Antalya 2024 

Amazing Antalya! 2024 highlights

Jakob Ingebrigtsen interview | Antalya 2024

Nadia Battocletti interview | Antalya 2024 

Niels Laros interview | Antalya 2024

Crazy cross country finishes!

What a day! Extended highlights | Brussels 2023

Extended highlights | 2022 SPAR European Cross Country Championships

Historic gold for France! Senior men's replay | Brussels 2023

Grøvdal reigns again! Women's senior replay | Brussels 2023

Champions d'Europe! Mixed relay replay | Brussels 2023

Pure domination! Women's U23 replay | Brussels 2023

<p dir="ltr">Another super busy and exciting year of athletics awaits! Here are some of the key dates for your athletics diaries in 2025.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1736350917/b65ce7d7-b2e2-4bd2-bdf0-3181fce2f1e9.jpg"></p>
<h3 dir="ltr">2 February - European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country, Albufeira (POR)</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The calendar of major events begins with the ECCC Cross Country, an event which was held for the first time in 1962 and predates both the European Cross Country Championships and World Cross Country Championships.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Spanish club Playas de Castellon dominated the 2024 ECCC Cross Country with Spain&rsquo;s Thierry Ndikumwenayo and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Likina Amebaw - who is in the process of obtaining Spanish citizenship - winning the individual titles for the Spanish team.&nbsp;</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">6-9 March - European Athletics Indoor Championships, Apeldoorn (NED)</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The biennial championships returns to Dutch soil for the first time since 1989 with this year&rsquo;s edition taking place in the Omnisport Apeldoorn where Femke Bol ran world indoor 400m records in 2023 and 2024.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Bol was one of the stars of the last edition of the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul where she successfully defended her 400m and 4x400m titles. Will she add to her title haul this year?&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1677167171/Getty/1467906382.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Among those to confirm that Apeldoorn features in their schedule are Ukraine&rsquo;s Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Greece&rsquo;s Miltiadis Tentoglou who are aiming for their third and fourth successive titles in the high jump and long jump respectively.&nbsp;</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">15-16 March - European Throwing Cup, Nicosia (CYP)</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The next three editions of the European Throwing Cup will be held in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia where warm and sunny conditions are expected to greet the throwers.</p>
<p dir="ltr">For many throwers, the European Throwing Cup represents their first international competition of the season and a good opportunity to secure ranking points and qualifying marks for the upcoming championships.&nbsp;</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">12-13 April - European Running Championships, Brussels-Leuven (BEL)&nbsp;</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The newest major event on the European Athletics calendar is the European Running Championships which makes its debut in Brussels-Leuven on the second weekend of April.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The two-day running festival consists of a 10km, half marathon and marathon - all of which are open to the masses as well. Top European runners such as Jimmy Gressier, Etienne Daguinos, Yann Schrub and Nadia Battocletti have all expressed their interest in competing in the inaugural edition in April.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1718178256/Website/battocletti.png"></p>
<h3 dir="ltr">18 May - European Race Walking Team Championships, Podebrady (CZE)&nbsp;</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The Czech spa town of Podebrady will stage the European Race Walking Team Championships for the third edition in a row this May.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The last edition in 2023 was highlighted by Spain&rsquo;s Maria Perez, who went on to win double gold at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, setting a world record of 2:37:15 in the 35km race walk.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Spain also topped the medal table in Podebrady two years ago with six gold medals in total ahead of Italy with five.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1736331637/Podebrady_23_EA_07_Ophe%CC%81lie_BOUVERAT.jpg"></p>
<h3 dir="ltr">24 May - European 10,000m Cup, Pac&eacute; (FRA)</h3>
<p dir="ltr">Having been incorporated into the European Athletics Championships last year, the European 10,000m Cup returns as a standalone event for the first time since 2023 with Pac&eacute; staging the competition for the third time.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">At the 2023 European 10,000m Cup, Italy&rsquo;s Yemaneberhan Crippa and Alina Reh from Germany won the individual titles with team honours going to Israel and Germany respectively.&nbsp;</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">24-29 June - European Athletics Team Championships 2nd and 3rd Divisions, Maribor (SLO)</h3>
<p dir="ltr">After missing out on promotion by an agonising half-a-point in 2023, can hosts Slovenia gain promotion into the 1st Division of the European Athletics Team Championships for the first time in history this year?</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Slovenian city of Maribor will be hosting both the 2nd and 3rd Divisions of the European Athletics Team Championships this year in the recently renovated Poljane Athletics Stadium.&nbsp;</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">27-29 June - European Athletics Team Championships 1st Division, Madrid (ESP)</h3>
<p dir="ltr">Italy dominated the last edition of the European Athletics Team Championships which was held in Silesia as part of the 2023 European Games. Will the Italians win back-to-back team titles in Madrid this June?</p>
<p dir="ltr">Hosts Spain finished a creditable fourth two years ago in Silesia, taking four individual victories across the programme.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1736332042/GettyImages-1501787493.jpg"></p>
<h3 dir="ltr">17-20 July - European Athletics U23 Championships, Bergen (NOR)</h3>
<p dir="ltr">Four years after coronavirus forced the event to be moved, Bergen will be staging this year&rsquo;s European Athletics U23 Championships which is open to athletes born between 2003-2005.</p>
<p dir="ltr">One of the big local hopes at these championships will be Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen who won an unexpected gold in the 3000m at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima last summer.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1725019490/240829_183334sm01256.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Other top names who are eligible to compete include Serbians Adriana Vilagos and Angelina Topic - both of whom have already won two medals at the European Athletics Championships - and Italy&rsquo;s Olympic long jump bronze medallist Mattia Furlani who has also won European titles at U18 and U20 level.&nbsp;</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">7-10 August - European Athletics U20 Championships, Tampere (FIN)</h3>
<p dir="ltr">Europe&rsquo;s outstanding teenage talents will compete for medals in Tampere this summer.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Just some of the names to watch include reigning world U20 champions Jana Koscak (heptathlon), Meta Tumba (400m hurdles) and Tom Tersek (javelin) as well as Great Britain&rsquo;s Phoebe Gill who smashed the European U18 800m best last year with 1:57.86.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1691485866/Getty%20Easy%20Access/1599328765.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">And 15-year-old British sprinter Divine Iheme - who ran a world age-14 100m best of 10.30 last summer - could also make his major championships debut in the Tampere Stadium.</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">14 December - SPAR European Cross Country Championships, Lagoa (POR)</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The major events calendar concludes once more with the SPAR European Cross Country Championships which moves to Lagoa in the south of Portugal this December.</p>
<p dir="ltr">At the last edition in Antalya, Nadia Battocletti and Jakob Ingebrigtsen ruled triumphant in the senior races as Great Britain topped the medal table for the fifth edition of the European Cross Country Championships in succession.</p>

What’s on this year? Key dates for your diary in 2025 

<p><strong>The year of cross country running arcs across two winter seasons, bookending the summer track season and the spring and autumn road race calendar.</strong></p>
<p>Nevertheless, after their triumphs at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, T&uuml;rkiye on 8 December, there is no doubt that Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Nadia Battocletti deserve their crown as the 2024 king and queen of the continent&rsquo;s cross country runners.</p>
<p>Both came into the winner having had outstanding summers which in both cases included European titles at Roma 2024 and Olympic medals in Paris, which in Ingebrigtsen&rsquo;s case was one of a golden hue after his 5000m triumph in the French capital.</p>
<p>In a familiar scenario, Ingebrigtsen didn&rsquo;t bother with any warm-up cross country races but <a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/ingebrigstsen-wins-third-senior-title-in-dominant-style-in-antalya-2024-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comfortably won his third senior men&rsquo;s title and his seventh individual title overall</a> in Antalya.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mGB1KKaRdl4?si=PZDN9XHj98JvPNAC" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe></p>
<p>He once again dominated the race and saw off the best of Europe's other distance runners in some style, leaving Italy&rsquo;s two-time U20 winner and European half marathon champion Yemaneberhan Crippa trailing in his wake to win by eight seconds while bronze on this occasion went to Thierry Ndikumwenayo of Spain, who led his country to the senior men&rsquo;s team title.</p>
<p>"Cross country is something that I really enjoy. It's very different from my other competitions, there's something special and exciting about around 100 people being at the starting line, going for the first turn," commented Ingebrigtsen.</p>
<h2>More gold for Battocletti</h2>
<p>By contrast, the Roma 5000m/10,000m champion Battocletti had two warm up races in November before her trip across the Mediterranean, including a hugely impressive win in the Madrid suburbs at the Cross Internacional de la Constituci&oacute;n in Alcobendas, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting.<br><br>She came home 1:13 in front of Germany&rsquo;s 2022 European 5000m champion Konstanze Klosterhalfen who has been on the comeback trail after a summer of setbacks including illness.</p>
<p>Klosterhalfen showed much of her old form had returned when she closed the gap to 11 seconds in Antalya&rsquo;s Dokuma Parek but <a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/battocletti-caps-history-year-with-gold-at-antalya-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Battocletti was still majestic with continental glory on the line</a>.</p>
<p>On the last of five 1510m laps in Antalya&rsquo;s, the Italian wound up the tempo, consistently gaining crucial metres over the hills before moving away from her remaining rivals.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2JfCi3q27KI?si=_jkz-gD9qICclev7" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe></p>
<p>Klosterhalfen matched her result from two years ago by holding on to take the silver medal and T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s four-time former champion Yasemin Can giving the home fans something to cheer, claiming bronze a further six seconds back in her first cross country outing since she dropped out of the 2022 SPAR European Cross Country Championships.<br><br>Battocletti &ndash; who became the first woman to win European cross country titles at U20, U23 and senior level &ndash; made a second trip to the top of the podium after it was confirmed Italy also won the team title, the first time the&nbsp;Azzurri&nbsp;had ever got a team medal of any description in this category&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/italy-regain-mixed-relay-title-in-closest-ever-finish-at-antalya-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Italy also took the mixed relay title in Antalya</a>, but Great Britain topped the medal table with 12 medals &ndash; six of them gold &ndash; thanks once again in no small part to their success in the age-group races which helped to take their overall tally of medals from the SPAR European Cross Country Championships up to 199.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>British age-group gold rush</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/barnicoat-and-anderson-make-it-a-british-u23-double-triumph" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Barnicoat, Phoebe Anderson</a> and Innes FitzGerald won the men&rsquo;s U23 and women&rsquo;s U23 and U20 titles respectively and led the scorers for their triumphant teams. <br><br>Notably, both Barnicoat and FitzGerald retained their titles from 12 months ago and will still be young enough to go for a hat-trick of titles in their age-groups at the 2025 edition of the championships in Lagoa, Portugal.<br><br>The men&rsquo;s U20 race was the only one of the age-group contests that didn&rsquo;t see a British win with 2024 European Athletics Rising Star of the Year <a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/u20-favourites-fitz-gerald-and-laros-live-up-to-expectations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Niels Laros confirming his status as a supreme talent with another victory</a> after the Dutch runner has achieved a host of accolades on the track during the summer.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bycf-X1-BeM?si=zO4E8rxWUiszjEeW" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe></p>
<p>Laros, second 12 months ago in Brussels, had started as the prohibitive favourite, not least after his win against senior opposition over 10km on home soil at the Warandeloop in Tilburg, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver meeting, two weeks earlier.<br><br>However, he was given a stern challenge by the surprise package George Couttie, who had the best race of his life, before finally shaking off the inspired Briton in the final couple of hundred metres and winning by two seconds.<br><br>Norway, led home by world U20 3000m champion Andreas Halvorsen in third, took the men&rsquo;s U20 team title.</p>
<h2>Great Britain get rare world cross medal</h2>
<p>The World Cross Country Championships was also staged on European soil back in March with Belgrade being the host city.</p>
<p>This event has not provided many medals for European runners in the last couple of decades but there was a moment to savour in the Serbian capital when&nbsp;<a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/bronze-for-gritty-brits-in-belgrade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Great Britain finished the mixed relay in third place</a>.</p>
<p>The British quartet of Thomas Keen, Alex Miller, Adam Fogg and Bethan Morley combined to produce an outstanding effort and get their nation&rsquo;s first senior medal at this championship for 20 years and Europe's first since 2017.</p>
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<p>Spanish athletes led the European challenge in the senior men&rsquo;s race with Ndikumwenayo finishing ninth and the best non-African runner while Spain were fourth in the team standings behind a trio of African countries who took the medals.</p>
<p>Norway&rsquo;s three-time SPAR European Cross Country Champion Karoline Bjerkeli Gr&oslash;vdal, who was unable to bid for a fourth title in Antalya after falling ill just a few days beforehand, was 14th in the senior women&rsquo;s race and the second non-African, while Spain were fifth and the leading European team.</p>
<h2>Playas de Castellon clean up at ECCC Cross Country</h2>
<p>Ndikumwenayo made a small piece of history when he became the first man to win European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country titles as both a senior and U20 athlete at this year&rsquo;s event in Albufeira, Portugal on 25 February.</p>
<p>This year's event saw the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/playas-de-castellon-take-five-eccc-cross-country-titles-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Playas de Castellon squad - including Ndikumwenayo - again prove to be the dominant force at the competition</a>,&nbsp; the Spanish club taking no less than five of the nine titles.</p>
<p>In addition to both senior individual victories, Playas de Castellon retained their senior men&rsquo;s and mixed relay team titles and also regained the U20 men&rsquo;s team crown last won in 2018.</p>
<p>A key part of the European cross country calendar is the <a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/competitions/cross-country-permit-meetings/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Athletics Cross Country Tour</a>, which shows just how much the continent continues to be the beating heart of the discipline with the Silver and Bronze meetings falling under the aegis of European Athletics.<br><br>In January and February 2024, nine meetings were staged of which seven were in Europe: four Gold, one Silver and two Bronze.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Similarly, between October and December 2024, 20 meetings have been staged with 18 in Europe: 10 Gold, seven Silver and one Bronze.</p>
<p><strong>Phil Minshull for European Athletics</strong></p>

2024 Review | Ingebrigtsen and Battocletti are the king and queen of cross country

<p><strong>Konstanze Klosterhalfen took the senior women's silver medal at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, 21 months after the German took a medal of a similar hue also in T&uuml;rkiye, over 3000m at the Istanbul 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships.&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><strong><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1734003850/SM_EA_CROSS24_asaps_081.jpg"></strong></p>
<p>But between placing second behind Italy's Nadia Battocletti on Sunday (8) and finishing in the same position behind her compatriot Hanna Klein in March last year, Klosterhalfen has faced one of the most challenging periods of her career, including a time when she could barely run.</p>
<h2>Modest expectations in Antalya</h2>
<p>Klosterhalfen has been a prolific medallist on the international stage ever since winning 1500m bronze at the 2015 European Athletics U20 Championships, most notably winning the 2022 European Athletics Championships 5000m title at home in Munich and bronze over the same distance at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha.</p>
<p>So, she was understandably thrilled to make a welcome and unexpected return to a championship podium after an absence of almost two years. After the race, Klosterhalfen admitted her goal in Antalya was simply to finish inside the top-10.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I am super happy it was a perfect race for me. I am relieved and happy, I didn&rsquo;t expect it,&rdquo; reflected Klosterhalfen who pushed Battocletti on the final lap until the reigning European 5000m and 10,000m champion pulled away in the closing stages.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1uDyR9rzOO0?si=6p1ipFgOaqcffw7s" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe></p>
<p>It brought a happy ending to an otherwise difficult year which saw her miss the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships - and so was unable to defend the continental title she won on home soil - as well as the Olympic Games.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>"I couldn't finish the run"</h2>
<p>Her troubles began in winter training, where she was eyeing a big year after missing out on the 2023 World Athletics Championships with a foot injury.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Training in Ethiopia was actually going super well. Maybe it was too much. It&rsquo;s pretty hard conditions there and I came back, and the first weeks were okay, but I didn&rsquo;t feel like this flow like when you come back from altitude.</p>
<p>&ldquo;After a few weeks I couldn&rsquo;t even finish easy runs and five-minute kilometres, it was super weird. I went out and I came back by bus because I couldn&rsquo;t finish the run, and I have never had that before. It wasn&rsquo;t easy to figure out what it was. Maybe something like a virus, but probably (I was) overtrained,&rdquo; said Klosterhalfen.</p>
<p>It condemned her to the sidelines to look on as Europe&rsquo;s best athletes competed in Rome and Paris.</p>
<p>&ldquo;At first I thought I won&rsquo;t watch, but it definitely hurt,&rdquo; she admitted. &ldquo;Especially Rome, I was excited to go there, it seemed to be a very fun championships. And obviously the Olympic Games in Europe is a big thing too. My family and friends, so many people, had already booked their tickets there.</p>
<p>&ldquo;But at that point, I had already accepted it. I didn&rsquo;t want to go there, just to go there. I have been to the Olympics (Rio and Tokyo) and I want to be competitive. I went to Paris, and I watched the 5000m and tried to enjoy it, but of course it hurts.&rdquo;</p>
<p>It required patience to return to fitness. &ldquo;I love running so much. But in the summer, I didn&rsquo;t really have this flow of running. It was very hard and painful. The last (few) months were really nice, I could just focus on my training step by step.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I loved running again and that was the biggest success probably. Sometimes it is better just to focus on the training and yourself than having the big goals in mind. You have to trust in yourself and the people around you. It wasn&rsquo;t always easy, but I never doubted that I could come back.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Inspired by Battocletti</h2>
<p>In her absence, Battocletti has shot to prominence, landing a famous double at Roma 2024, getting the Olympic 10,000m silver as well as her first senior title at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.</p>
<p>Klosterhalfen has drawn inspiration from the Italian&rsquo;s success.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1734003850/GettyImages-2188901240.jpg"></p>
<p>&ldquo;I raced for the first time two week ago against her (Cross Internacional de Alcobendas, 24 November where she finished second to Battocletti). But of course, I watched her in Paris, and it&rsquo;s insane to see what a jump she did in the last two years.</p>
<p>&ldquo;To know where she was two years ago and now, she has an Olympic medal, it definitely gives me confidence that it could be me. I just need to stay consistent and healthy and then I can be competitive,&rdquo; she said.</p>
<h2>All possibilities open for 2025</h2>
<p>Her return to form in Antalya, builds the foundations for what could be a big year ahead with the Apeldoorn 2025 European Indoor Championships, the inaugural European Running Championships in Brussels-Leuven, Madrid 2025 European Athletics Team Championships First Division and the World Athletics Championships all possibilities.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But Klosterhalfen is keeping an open mind. &nbsp;&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really have a plan yet,&rdquo; she admitted. &ldquo;We just look week to week, and I feel stronger every week. I would like to do some road races, maybe a short indoor season to get the speed back after more mileage in the winter. But everything with the goal of the summer.&rdquo;</p>
<p>She has demonstrated her prowess on the roads, most notably winning the Valencia Half Marathon in 2022 in 1:05.41, going third on the European all-time lists.</p>
<p>But the rangy German, who was consigned to a DNF in the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February when she was hoping to break the 65 minute-barrier, still has unfinished business on the track.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I am not finished on the track yet,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;The last two years I couldn&rsquo;t really do anything, and the field has done such a jump in the last few years, so I first need to catch up. But I definitely want to try the roads. I did some races and it&rsquo;s fun.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Away from athletics, she is studying for qualifications in sports and journalism, with a view to working in the media. &ldquo;I would like to go into TV and do something, maybe commentating?&rdquo;, she smiled after her latest meal-winning exploit.</p>
<p>But before she moves into reporting, Klosterhalfen&rsquo;s own story still has some way to run.</p>
<p><strong>Chris Broadbent for European Athletics</strong></p>

Klosterhalfen: "I never doubted that I could come back”

<p><strong>The 20th anniversary of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships presented just the type of unique challenge that purists of the discipline savour.</strong></p>
<p>Snow, ice, mud, hills and mountain altitude all combined for a classic test of cross country running in Samokov, Bulgaria. Coupled with some gripping races, it added up to a fitting occasion for the landmark staging, taking place in its fifteenth country since the inaugural event in Alnwick, Great Britain in 1994.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1732274066/GettyImages-460451858.jpg"></p>
<h2>Steely determination</h2>
<p>The race of the day was the senior women&rsquo;s event. In-form British champion Gemma Steel was determined to complete her SPAR European Cross Country Championships medal collection with gold, having took silver at Belgrade 2013 and bronze at Velenje 2011.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But she would have to overcome the last two winners in France&rsquo;s Sophie Duarte (2013) and Ireland&rsquo;s Fionnuala Britton (2011-2012) if she were to take the final step to top the podium. Sweden&rsquo;s Meraf Bahta, 5000m gold medallist at the Zurich 2014 European Athletics Championships was another obvious threat.</p>
<p>But as the race unfolded, it became clear that Steel&rsquo;s greatest challenge would come from a lot closer to home in the shape of Kate Avery. Her British teammate had won bronze in the women&rsquo;s U20 race in Dublin 2009; but was a slightly unknown quantity having not raced in Europe all winter.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Based in the USA, a month prior, she triumphed at the prestigious NCAA Cross Country Championship in Indiana and despite vastly different conditions in Bulgaria&rsquo;s Rila Mountain range, she ran like an athlete high on confidence.&nbsp;</p>
<p>She took the race out and with three kilometres still left to run, it become a head to head between the two British athletes for gold as they ran clear from the field. It was neck-and-neck right to the finishing straight where Steel&rsquo;s unwavering desire for gold held firm as she edged ahead in the closing strides to win, both athletes were timed at 28:27 on the 8.05km course.</p>
<p>Bahta just got the better of Belgium&rsquo;s Almenesh Belete in the battle for bronze with Duarte and Britton fifth and sixth respectively. &nbsp;Steel and Avery were ably backed by Steph Twell (7th) and Lily Partridge (11th) to claim team gold for Great Britain, ahead of Spain and Ireland.</p>
<h2>Turkish delight</h2>
<p>The senior men&rsquo;s race followed a similar theme. But this time it was two Turkish athletes to the fore.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1732274065/GettyImages-460452612.jpg"></p>
<p>Polat Kemboi Arıkan, gold medallist over 10,000m at the 2012 European Athletics Championships and Ali Kaya, 10,000m bronze medallist in 2014 were joined by Spain&rsquo;s defending champion Alemayehu Bezabeh in splitting the field well before halfway of the 9.88km course.</p>
<p>But in the last kilometre, the Turks broke Bezabeh and it came down to a sprint finish in which Arikan won with both timed at 32:19, 11 seconds clear of Bezabeh who had to settle for bronze. It was double delight for the Turkish as they won the team title as well, supported by Cihat Ulus (11th) and Ramazan &Ouml;zdemir (19th).</p>
<p>Spain won team silver and Italy team bronze.</p>
<h2>Crippa wins first international title</h2>
<p>The men&rsquo;s U20 race saw the flowering of a future star, as Italy&rsquo;s Yemaneberhan Crippa took his first international title. But it could have been so different had Russia's Aleksandr Novikov not completely mistimed his effort.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Bursting to the front on the penultimate lap, he took off from the pack and sprinted down the home straight as if running to the finish, only to be greeted by the bell. Having miscounted the laps, he had prematurely emptied his tank and was hungrily eaten up by the chasing pack.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1732274065/GettyImages-460493028.jpg"></p>
<p>Crippa grabbed the opportunity with both hands, taking over at the front from a crestfallen Novikov and running clear to win gold. Aged just 18 at the time, he defended the title a year later in Hy&egrave;res 2015, laying the foundations for his superb career which has since brought European Athletics Championship titles over 10,000m in Munich 2022 in the and half marathon on home soil in Roma 2024.</p>
<p>Spain&rsquo;s Carlos Mayo won silver with another Italian, Said Ettaqy taking bronze. Italy also won the team gold from Spain and T&uuml;rkiye.</p>
<p>In the women&rsquo;s U20 race, T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s Emina Hatun Tuna&nbsp;won gold to add to 3000m silver she won at the Rieti 2013 European Athletics U20 Championships.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1733323208/GettyImages-460452868.jpg"></p>
<p>Britain&rsquo;s Jessica Judd took silver, her first medal in her long career at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships, which has also included bronze in the women&rsquo;s U23 race in Samorin 2017 and top eight finishes in the senior women&rsquo;s race in the last four editions in Lisbon 2019 (6th), Dublin 2021 (4th), Turin 2022 (8th) and Brussels 2023 (5th).&nbsp;</p>
<p>Bronze went to her British teammate Lydia Turner. Britain took team gold from France and Germany, whose team included Konstanze Klosterhalfen in 19th place. Then aged just 17, she went on to win 5000m bronze at the Doha 2019 World Athletics Championships and 5000m gold at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships.</p>
<h2>Britain tops medal table</h2>
<p>The men&rsquo;s U23 race saw a Russian 1-2-3 through Ilgizar Safiulin, Igor Maksimov and Vladimir Nikitin. They also gleaned the team title from Britain and Sweden.</p>
<p>And in the women&rsquo;s U23 race, Britain&rsquo;s Rhona Auckland won gold from Bulgaria's Militsa Mircheva and Russia's Gulshat Fazlitdinova. Russia took the team gold from Britain and T&uuml;rkiye.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Britain topped the medal table with nine medals, including four gold, four silver and one bronze.&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Chris Broadbent for European Athletics</strong></p>

Flashback to 2014 | Steel lands elusive gold as Crippa wins first title

<p><strong>Ahead of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, T&uuml;rkiye, on 8 December 2024, organisers have unveiled an exciting sustainability strategy designed to minimise the environmental impact of the event and promote a greener future for athletics events.</strong></p>
<p>Committed to making a meaningful difference, the Local Organising Commiotte is encouraging all attendees to join in their sustainability efforts. The goal is clear: to reduce the carbon footprint of athletics events and create a lasting, positive impact. The initiative is aligned with the Region of Kepez&rsquo;s sustainability priorities and includes a range of impactful actions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Paper Reduction</li>
<li>Reducing Single-Use Plastics</li>
<li>Land Regeneration</li>
<li>Increased Participation in Sports</li>
<li>Ecosystem Preservation</li>
<li>Boosting the Local Economy</li>
<li>Effective Waste Management</li>
</ul>
<p>One of the most innovative aspects of the strategy is the sustainable legacy being created for Dokuma Park (below), the championship venue. After the event, a new running course will be built for public use, encouraging fitness long after the final race.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1732890839/5.jpg"></p>
<p>Additionally, olive tree seeds will be gifted to all medallists to plant in the Botanical Garden within the park, symbolising a commitment to environmental stewardship.</p>
<p>The event will also feature a beach cleaning initiative, aiming to raise awareness about the environmental effects of mass tourism in Antalya and contribute to preserving its beautiful coastline.</p>
<p>The plan marks a significant step in making athletics not only a celebration of sport but a celebration of sustainability and community.&nbsp;For more details on the <a href="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/b6dfe382-7d17-4d9c-aacd-846e3ec66c7f/SPAR%20EXCH%202024%20Antalya_Sustainability%20Strategy_vfinal_26112024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">full sustainability strategy</a>, visit the official event page.</p>
<p><strong>Chris Broadbent for European Athletics</strong></p>

Innovative Sustainability Strategy for Antalya 2024

<p dir="ltr"><strong>Hayley Yelling was contemplating retirement after narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games by a cruel 0.14 of a second but the Briton was persuaded by her long-time coach Conrad Milton to extend her running career, which she juggled alongside a full-time job being being a mathematics teacher.</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">It proved to be a prophetic decision as, just a few months later, the 30-year-old runner added her name to the SPAR European Cross Country Championship roll of honour at the 2004 edition in the Baltic seaside resort of Heringsdorf in Germany.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1732700591/2004_IMG_5307.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Yelling had also missed out on the 10,000m qualifying time for the 2000 Olympics by a mere 1.27 seconds and while she had been part of British medal-winning teams at the European Cross Country Championships in the past, Yelling deservedly took the individual plaudits.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">And she did it in a sprint finish.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Among those Yelling outpaced in the muddy finishing straight was her friend and compatriot Jo Pavey, who had just missed out on an Athens medal when finishing fifth in the 5000m.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">"With 50 metres to go I was convinced I was going to finish in fourth. I thought they were going to outsprint me because I haven't got a sprint finish. I thought 'I can't let Jo beat me, I'm supposed to be the cross country runner'.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">&ldquo;I can't believe it. It is a dream to win after missing out on the Olympics, although it doesn't really make up for it,&rdquo; a jubilant Yelling told the British magazine <em>Athletics Weekly.</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">Poland&rsquo;s former world 3000m steeplechase record-holder Justyna Bak separated the two British runners by taking silver in 18:07, one second behind Yelling and one second ahead of Pavey with Romania&rsquo;s Mihaela Botezan the unlucky one to miss out in the sprint finish, finishing fourth.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1732700278/2004_IMG_5331.jpg">Despite Great Britain fielding two of the three individual medallists, a Portuguese team including 1996 Olympic 10,000m champion Fernanda Ribeiro and future European cross country champion Jessica Augusto packed well to win the team title ahead of the British squad with hosts Germany taking bronze, their only medal of the championships.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">However, this wasn&rsquo;t to be Yelling&rsquo;s only hurrah at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships and the circumstances surrounding her victory five years later in 2009 had very similar parallels.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Only this time, Yelling had retired for good after yet another near miss at the 10,000m qualifying time for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games before she was coaxed back to racing the following autumn, and then winning Great Britain's European cross country trial race in Liverpool off a very limited training programme.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A few weeks later in Dublin, she threw caution to the wind by going out hard from the gun and remained in front to become a most unexpected continental champion and just the second repeat winner of the women&rsquo;s senior race after her compatriot Paula Radcliffe in 1998 and 2003.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Lebid becomes a cross country great... and a first medal for Farah</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Ukraine&rsquo;s Sergiy Lebid became the most successful athlete in SPAR European Cross Country Championships history n Heringsdorf.</p>
<p dir="ltr">With a dominant and reassured 23-second victory in the senior men&rsquo;s race, the blonde-haired Lebid took his tally of individual titles up to five to move one ahead of Portugal&rsquo;s Paulo Guerra who had won four individual titles, including gold at the first two editions in 1994 and 1995.</p>
<p dir="ltr">&ldquo;The last 500 metres were pretty emotional. I felt really strong in the last 500 metres, and even stronger in the last 200 metres, I felt I could have run for hours. Each victory is very important but this one is the most special,&rdquo; said Lebid, who went on to win an unprecedented - and potentially unpassable - tally of nine senior gold medals and 12 individual medals overall between 1998 and 2011.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1732700425/2004_IMG_5378.jpg"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Spain&rsquo;s Juan Carlos de la Ossa was a distant second in 27:54 as he picked up the second of his three European cross country silver medals while Driss Maazouzi finished third in 28:05, as he would do 12 months later in the Dutch city of Tilburg, but led home France to the team title.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Further down the field in 15th, a then 21-year-old Mo Farah collected his first ever senior medal of any description - the U23 race was only added to the programme in 2006 when Farah, who had taken the U20 silver in 2001, won the individual senior title - as the second counter of Great Britain&rsquo;s bronze medal-winning team.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Hungary&rsquo;s Barnabas Bene won his first of two U20 titles in the men&rsquo;s U20 race while T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s Binnaz Uslu was crowned women&rsquo;s U20 champion ahead of Ancuta Bobocel who led Romania to the team title.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Steven Mills for European Athletics</strong></p>

Flashback to 2004 | Yelling comes back from the brink to win gold in Heringsdorf

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SPAR European Cross Country Championships Features

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.