Final entries for the 30th edition of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Türkiye on 8 December have been published.
A total of 566 athletes representing 39 Member Federations are due to compete at this year's SPAR European Cross Country Championships which will be streamed live on the European Athletics website and the Eurovision Sport website.
The entry-lists feature five gold medallists from the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships: Jakob Ingebrigtsen (1500/5000m), Yemaneberhan Crippa (half marathon) and Alexis Miellet (3000m steeplechase) in the senior men’s race and Nadia Battocletti (5000m/10,000m) and Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal (half marathon) in the senior women’s race.
Grøvdal will be aiming for a record-equalling fourth successive title in the senior women’s race and the Norwegian is one of five individual gold medallists from the 2023 SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Brussels who will be competing in Antalya.
France’s Yann Schrub will defend his senior men’s title while Brits Innes FitzGerald and Will Barnicoat will defend their women’s U20 and men’s U23 titles respectively. After winning U20 gold last year, Denmark’s Axel Vang Christensen steps up into the U23 ranks this year.
After finishing second last year, 2024 men’s Rising Star Niels Laros, who finished sixth in the Olympic 1500m final in Paris 2024, will be looking to cap his prolific junior career by taking gold in the men’s U20 race.
A powerful Spanish quartet featuring reigning European indoor 800m champion Adrian Ben begin as the favourites to recapture the mixed relay title they won six years ago in Tilburg.
In-depth previews on the 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships will be published on the European Athletics website from Monday.