30th SPAR European Cross Country Championships

U23 Events

U20 Events

Men's Cross Country Senior Race

Men's Cross Country U23 Race

Men's Cross Country U20 Race

Women's Cross Country Senior Race

Women's Cross Country U23 Race

Women's Cross Country U20 Race

Mixed Cross Country Relay

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>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Results

News

Team & Media Information

Past Editions

Next Editions

Results Book

Daily Programme

Athlete Biographies

Final Entries

Statistics Handbook

Timetable

Official Programme

Media Guide

Venue Map

Sustainability Strategy

Results Book (Brussels 2023)

SPAR European Cross Country Championships

Final entries

Team Manual

Antalya 2024 Sustainability Strategy

Antalya City Map

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 class="p1"><strong>Put your feet up this holiday season and enjoy the <a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Winter 2024/25 issue</a> of <em>Inside Track</em>, European Athletics' digital magazine, which is out now.</strong></p>
<p class="p1">It&rsquo;s a bumper roundup of all things European Athletics from the second half of 2024 and is packed with exclusive written features, audio interviews and video content.</p>
<p class="p1">Whether you&rsquo;re reading on your laptop, watching on your phone or listening on the go, <em>Inside Track</em> is your perfect companion for the festive season.</p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">What&rsquo;s inside this issue?</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/welcome/">Excellence, inclusivity and a year to remember</a></strong> &ndash; A welcome message and travel update from European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/roma/"><strong>Records, resilience and Rome&rsquo;s roar</strong></a> &ndash; <em>Inside Track</em> caught up with one of the host nation&rsquo;s biggest stars of the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, Italian shot put star Leonardo Fabbri.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/elisa/"><strong>Double gold and a bright future</strong></a> &ndash; Behind-the-scenes in Banska Bystrica with Italy&rsquo;s Elisa Valensin, who took double gold at the European Athletics U18 Championships.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/records/">Achieving the impossible</a></strong> &ndash; Performance highlights from the summer of 2024 &ndash; another record-breaking season for Europe&rsquo;s athletes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/antalya/"><strong>Amazing Antalya!</strong></a> &ndash; Antalya 2024 in pictures: a photo story from the 30th edition of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/goldentracks/"><strong>Mahuchikh and Duplantis crowned 2024 European Athletes of the Year in Skopje</strong></a> &ndash; All the highlights from a star-studded Golden Tracks awards night.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/2024convention/">Reimagining competition</a></strong> &ndash;<em> Inside Track</em> caught up with European Athletics Vice President Cherry Alexander, who spoke about Reimagining Competition at the 2024 European Athletics Convention.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/erbc/"><strong>A global gathering shaping the future of running</strong></a> &ndash; A look at the European Running Business Conference 2024 in Athens, which set a new standard for B2B collaboration in our sport.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/ceomessage/">The State of our Sport</a></strong> &ndash; An update on the State of our Sport from European Athletics CEO Christian Milz &ndash; a regular <em>Inside Track</em> feature.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/apeldoorn2024/"><strong>'Moving People' through the power of athletics</strong></a> &ndash; Everything you need to know about the Apeldoorn 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/athletics-for-all/"><strong>Athletics for All at the edge of Europe</strong></a> &ndash; <em>Inside Track</em> profiles three remarkable clubs making athletics happen in some of the remotest regions of our continent.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><a href="https://mag.european-athletics.com/winter24-25/athletics-for-all/healthier-lives/">Healthier lives and closer communities with Athletics for All</a> </strong>&ndash; Introducing European Athletics&rsquo; new approach to improving inclusivity and wellness across Europe through athletics.</p>
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<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>Jakob Ingebrigtsen won his third senior men&rsquo;s title and his seventh individual title overall at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, T&uuml;rkiye on Sunday (8).&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>Still only 24, the Norwegian already sits comfortably among the greats of European distance running and he added another yet chapter to his burgeoning list of accolades in perfect running conditions in Dokuma Park.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://live.european-athletics.com/EXC2024/lrs/schedule/ATH/AllDays" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Ingebrigtsen untroubled</h2>
<p>Looking utterly untroubled, he saw off the best of Europe's other distance runners in serene style, leaving Italy&rsquo;s two-time U20 winner Yemaneberhan Crippa to win silver to add to the bronze he took five years ago in Lisbon while bronze on this occasion went to event debutant Thierry Ndikumwenayo of Spain.</p>
<p><iframe title="Who else but Jakob? 😎 A third European cross country title and he made it look easy. 🥶" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sXZ6cdtbCQ0" width="356" height="634" 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>Crippa made the early running alongside Great Britain&rsquo;s Hugo Milner &ndash; fourth last year in Brussels &ndash; with Ingebrigtsen content to keep a watching brief in third in a large lead pack.&nbsp;</p>
<p>On the second lap, Milner pushed the pace on with France's defending champion Yann Schrub, 2016 U23 winner Isaac Kimeli of Belgium and Sweden&rsquo;s Andreas Almgren, who was fourth in the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships 10,000m and Ingebrigtsen's regular training partner, also able to maintain the pace with Ingebrigtsen, Crippa and Ndikumwenayo.</p>
<p>On penultimate fourth lap, Ingebrigtsen decided it was time to go to the front and raise the tempo. Only Crippa was brave enough to go with him.</p>
<p>From that point, it was highly likely there was only ever going to be one winner, and the peerless Norwegian gradually went through his impressive set of gears and the Roma 2024 half marathon champion Crippa had to settle in for silver.</p>
<p>In the closing straight, Ingebrigtsen looked like he could run all day and crossed the line with plenty left in the tank, clocking 22:16 over the 7832m course while Crippa took a deserved silver medal eight second behind.</p>
<h2>"Something special"</h2>
<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," reflected Ingebrigtsen.<br><br>"There's a lot of fighting and pushing and shoving, there's a lot of things that could happen. The course was so challenging and tactical, as well as technical. It's all about using the energy wisely and trying to manoeuvre," he added.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1733662497/GettyImages-2188843808_1.jpg"></p>
<p>A tired-looking Ndikumwenayo clung on for bronze in 22:31 while Kimeli fourth (22:33), Almgren fifth (22:34) and Schrub sixth (22:35).</p>
<p>The team title went to Spain with just 18 points. Nassim Hassaous in seventh and Abdessamad Oukhelfen eighth ably supported Ndikumwenayo, with two-time medallist Adel Mechaal also finishing in 10th place.</p>
<p>Last year's senior men's team winners Belgium, led home by Kimeli, took the silver medal this time with 37 points and Great Britain grabbed the bronze with 39 points for their 200th medal in SPAR European Cross Country Championships history.</p>
<p><strong>Chris Broadbent for European Athletics</strong></p>

Ingebrigtsen wins third senior title in dominant style in Antalya 2024  

<p><strong>Nadia Battocletti crowned a brilliant 2024 as she won her third continental title of the year by winning the senior women&rsquo;s race at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, T&uuml;rkiye on Sunday (8).&nbsp;</strong></p>
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<p>And there was a return to form for both 2022 European 5000m champion Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany as well as home favourite and four-time previous champion Yasemin Can, who took silver and bronze respectively.&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://live.european-athletics.com/EXC2024/lrs/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Battocletti completes golden collections</h2>
<p>But the plaudits went to the Italian, who claimed a sensational 5000m/10,000m double in front of an adoring home crowd at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships in June.</p>
<p>This latest victory, in addition to the Olympic 10,000m silver she won this summer, brings an end a superlative championships year for Battocletti.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1733658101/Photo_08-12-2024_13_36_32.jpg"></p>
<p>The result in Antalya also made her the first female - and just the second athlete ever after her male compatriot Andrea Lalli - to win titles in all three age groups at the event, having previously won the women&rsquo;s U20 title in 2018 and 2019 and then the women&rsquo;s U23 gold in 2021 and 2022.</p>
<h2>Another exam passed</h2>
<p>Battocletti won silver last year behind three-time winner Karoline Bjerkeli Gr&oslash;vdal but In the absence of the Norwegian, who withdrew due to illness earlier this week, the 24-year-old naturally started out as the favourite.&nbsp;</p>
<p>And the University of Trento student, who completed an engineering exam on Thursday, again answered all the questions posed to her. &nbsp;</p>
<p>France&rsquo;s Manon Trapp was a surprise early leader, a judo exponent who converted to running in 2017, she stretched out to a 50-metre lead in the opening long lap and showed her fighting spirit as she maintained it through second lap.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1733658136/GettyImages-2188840261.png"></p>
<p>By then, the chasing pack had begun to break up, but was headed by Battocletti, four-time winner Can and Romania&rsquo;s Delvine Relin Meringor, with Germany&rsquo;s Klosterhalfen and Jana van Lent of Belgium also prominent.</p>
<p>However, with two laps to go, Trapp was enveloped by her more illustrious competitors.</p>
<p>On the final lap, the leading pack was whittled down to five with Trapp having been cut adrift. With the final 1510m circuit to navigate, Battocletti wound up the tempo, consistently gaining crucial metres over the hills and slowly but surely established a gap between herself and her rivals.</p>
<p>Allowing herself a broad smile in the closing strides, she broke the tape in 25:43 with Klosterhalfen matching her result from two years ago in silver with 25:54 and the 2022 European 10,000m champion Can giving the home fans something to shout about, claiming bronze a further six seconds back.</p>
<p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/european-athletics/image/upload/v1733667134/Photo_08-12-2024_13_38_52.jpg"></p>
<p>Meringor was fourth in 26:03 with van Lent a surprising and hugely creditable fifth in 26:04 while the bold Trapp faded to eighth in 26:17.</p>
<p>Adding a cherry to Battocletti&rsquo;s cake, Italy also won the team title - the first time the <em>Azzurri </em>had ever got a team medal of any description in this category - with Elisa Palmero (13th) and Ludovica Cavalli (19th) scoring 33 points to come home just three points ahead of Great Britain while Belgium repeated their position on home soil in Brussels and finished third.</p>
<p>Afterwards, Battocletti said: "I was thinking before the race that it would be tough. I ran in Alcobendas (in Spain) two weeks ago, the course is different, it's a more technical course. It's tougher than here. So, it was a good test."</p>
<p>On Italy's first ever senior women's team podium place, let alone title, she said: "We made history. I'm so proud of the girls. We ran together since childhood, so we knew each other quite well."</p>
<p><strong>Chris Broadbent for European Athletics</strong></p>

Battocletti caps historic year with gold at Antalya 2024

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Province of Gelderland

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.