First introduced at the 2017 SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Šamorín, Slovakia, the mixed relay race has provided some of the most exciting moments in the recent history of the event and the 2024 edition, is likely to be another thriller.
Nations have deployed some of their finest middle distance talents and it has generated some hard-fought blanket finishes.
None more so than last year when France and the Netherlands hunted down Great Britain in the closing straight, resulting in European 3000m steeplechase champion Alexis Miellet kicking away to grab France’s first ever victory in this event.
One year prior to that, Gaia Sabbatini launched a devastating sprint finish off the final downhill section to overhaul the Spaniards, who might begin as the favourites in Antalya, to anchor Italy to a memorable and emotional gold medal on home soil in Turin
Britain seeking more medals
Great Britain is the most successful nation in this discipline with three victories (Šamorín 2017, Lisbon 2019, Dublin 2021) in the six stagings and will no doubt me in the mix again this time.
Joshua Lay, a bronze medallist over 1500m from the 2019 European Athletics U20 Championships has been named in their line up. Lay ran the opening leg in Brussels last year when Britain settled for bronze.
The French team includes Antoine Senard, the only returning member of their gold medal-winning team last year, but their strongest runner based on track performances is Agathe Guillemot who finished ninth in the 1500m final on home soil at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games where she broke the 4:00-barrier in all three rounds.
Miellet, who anchored France to gold last year, makes his debut in the senior men's race this year.
Spanish experience could be key
Perhaps the most experienced and credentialed quartet in the field is Spain who include current men’s 800m gold medallist from Istanbul 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships Adrian Ben, seeking more precious metal in Türkiye.
He will be joined by two-time European indoor 1500m bronze medallist Jesus Gomez; multiple continental and global 1500m finalist Marta Perez; and Esther Guerrero, the only remaining member of their gold medal-winning team from Tilburg 2018.
Former champions Italy will be spearheaded by 1500m national record-holders Sintayehu Vissa and Pietro Arese, the latter a bronze medallist at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships. Arese also ran the opening leg for the victorious Italians two years ago.
Eleven nations will toe the start-line in Antalya. In addition to the above, Andorra, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Ukraine and the hosts Türkiye will compete.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics
A complete entry list for the Antalya 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships is available here.
The championships will be streamed in their entirety through the European Athletics website from 11:00 local time (09:00 CET/08:00 GMT) and will be accompanied by expert English-language commentary from two-time World Cross Country Championships silver medallist Tim Hutchings and 2011 World Athletics Championships 1500m silver medallist Hannah England.
There will also be extensive race day coverage of the championships on the European Athletics website and social media channels.
For those visiting Antalya, there are no ticket sales for this event. It is free to enter the venue and watch the competitions and medal ceremonies.