European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov reflects of the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia which were held on Saturday (30).
"I would like to congratulate everyone involved with the World Cross Country Championships which were held on Saturday.
"It was a superbly organised event and I think a huge amount of credit should go to my friends at the Athletics Federation of Serbia – Srpski Atletski Savez – and especially its President Veselin Jevrosimović and General Secretary Slobodan Brankovic for their courage in taking on this event at relatively short notice and their commitment to making it such a success.
"The pair were initially elected to their positions in 2008 and recently were once again elected to another four-year term which, I think, is a great testament to the regard in which they are held.
European Athletics President @DobriBulgaria met with Serbian President @avucic in Belgrade 🇷🇸 on Friday morning.
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) March 29, 2024
Among the topics of discussion was Serbia hosting future @EuroAthletics events.https://t.co/u5mIBA3L4D@srbatl pic.twitter.com/alOdcda0YQ
"Under their leadership, Serbian athletics has gone from strength-to-strength and the federation has graduated from hosting European Athletics age-group championships, remembering that the 2009 European Athletics U20 Championships were held in Novi Sad, to global competitions such as this World Cross Country Championships and the hugely successful World Athletics Indoor Championships two years ago.
"On the continental stage, the Athletics Federation of Serbia have contributed enormously as a Member Federation of European Athletics and staged many of our events including the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships and last year’s European Athletics Congress, both of which were in Belgrade, and which has gained a reputation as one of the leading sports hubs in Europe.
"Belgrade remains the only city in the world to have staged the European Athletics Indoor Championships and then a World Athletics Indoor Championships as well as a SPAR European Cross Country Championships followed by a World Cross Country Championships; and we believe that organising a continental championships followed by a global event has proven to be the correct sequence in terms of transferring the knowledge and experience gained.
"I know that the Serbian federation has bigger ambitions as well, and I look forward to seeing them realised in the near future.
@:Nikola Adamovic (Belgrade 24 World Cross Country Championships LOC)
"Turning my attention back to the World Cross Country Championships, I send my congratulations to the Great Britain and Northern Ireland mixed relay team for their bronze medal, Europe's first at these championships since 2017, and even though medals have been hard to come by for our Member Federations in recent years, it is worth emphasising that Europe is still at the heart of this particular discipline in our wonderfully varied and diverse sport.
"It was in Europe during the first half of the 19th century that competitive cross country running, as we now know it, emerged. Turning the clock forward to the present day, European countries have staged six of the last 10 World Cross Country Championships, so more than the rest of the world combined.
"During the last winter, 21 of the 26 World Athletics Cross Country Tour meetings took place in Europe. In recent years, thanks to European Athletics management, there has been a resurgence of interest in the ECCC Cross Country which brings together the top clubs in Europe.
"Most importantly of all though, the SPAR European Cross Country Championships is, without doubt, the most important continental cross country championship in the world and comfortably retains that position."
"In our last edition in Brussels just a few months ago, we had 528 runners from 38 countries compete, which means more than three-quarters of our Member Federations were represented in the Belgian capital.
"This shows the interest across the whole of Europe in this event and, more broadly, cross country running.
"It is also clear that many distance runners and coaches are returning to the view that cross country forms an excellent base for progress and success on the track.
"Our collective attention in Europe now turns to an exciting summer ahead with both the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships and then the Paris 2024 Olympic Games getting ever closer.
"However, I think that the next SPAR European Cross Country Championships on 8 December – when we go to Türkiye for the first time with this event with Antalya being the host city – will once again demonstrate that cross country running is thriving in Europe."