Both the U23 races at the Antalya 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships ended with thrilling finishes as the individual gold medals went to Great Britain’s Will Barnicoat and Phoebe Anderson on Sunday (8).
Barnicoat was given the same time as a French rival in Brussels 12 months ago but this time he had the 'luxury' of a one-second advantage over Ireland’s Nick Griggs as the pair battled for honours in the closing stages of the 6332m race before the Briton proved to be just the stronger and defended his title.
The Briton won in 18:27 with Griggs, last year’s U20 bronze medallist, one-second in arrears. With both men still in the U23 ranks in 2025, when the championships will be staged in Lagoa, Portugal, another tumultuous battle could be on the cards this time next year.
BarniGOAT! 🐐
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) December 8, 2024
A third successive title at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships for Will Barnicoat! ✨
It’s back-to-back U23 titles in #Antalya2024. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/Bs0JRjL8T4
It was an exciting climax to a race, which had drama in almost the first metre when Griggs tripped up at the start and fell before steadily working his way back through the field.
A large group of more than 20 runners were together at the end of the first of four laps with the unheralded Polish pair of Maciej Megier and Kamil Herzyk leading the way.
Almost the entire leading pack stayed together during the second lap, with no one wishing to make an early move, although France’s Aurelien Radja gently increased the pace at times.
On the third lap, it was the turn of Italy’s Konjoneh Maggi to put in some surges and this effort finally had the effect of braking up thew leading group.
Going into the last lap, the main set of protagonists was down to five: Maggi, Barnicoat, Griggs, Great Britain’s David Stone and France’s Luc Le Baron, the latter the fastest European U23 steeplechaser this year.
Stone – who came back after several years of injuries to impressively win the British trial race for Antalya – desperately tried to turn the screw but Barnicoat was not to be denied as Griggs, who looked briefly as though he was going to be dropped about 400 metres from the line, also went past Stone in the final 200 metres.
Barnicoat clocked 18:27 with Griggs one second back and Stone third in 18:31.
"It was a really tough race. I know I can keep people out in the final straight, so my aim was to be in a good position when I came down there. The team did an amazing job. David Stone, he's only been running for about a month, he's had a tough journey. I think he deserves that bronze medal," reflected Barnicoat.
“Everyone wants to go out and win gold. I’m the nearly-man at these championships with two silvers and one bronze individually in the last three years, but I’m happy and I think it’s something I’ll appreciate as I get older," said Griggs ruefully.
"I knew it was a long home straight and not to make any moves too early, but the best man won on the day and one of these years I will win at these championships," added the Irishman.
With two in the first three men home, it was no surprise that Great Britain won the team title for the third year in succession. However, they had to wait until Brett Rushman crossed the line in 13th place before victory was confirmed with a tally of 17 points.
France took second place with 24 points with Denmark fulfilling predictions by taking their first ever men’s team medal in any category at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships with 42 points for third, despite 2023 U20 winner Axel Vang Christensen having a disappointing run and only finishing 17th.
Anderson goes through the gears
Phoebe Anderson had an inspired last 500 metres to produce an upset win in the women’s U23 race.
The Briton looked as though she was having to settle for bronze with a kilometre to go as she started to get detached from Finland’s Ilona Mononen and Spain’s 2022 U20 winner Maria Forero.
However, the US-based runner showed no ill-effects from having many races in her legs during the US collegiate season to upset the odds over her two more highly favoured rivals who has finished second and sixth.
Great Britain’s Mia Waldmann, making her debut in a British vest, audaciously made the pace for the first half of the race, and at the end of the second of four laps the leading group was down to six.
It was then the turn of Mononen, very much the favourite after finishing second last year and running a national 3000m steeplechase record of 9:22.77 at the Olympic Games this summer, to take over at the front.
For the rest of the race bar the final 200 metres, Mononen looked supremely confident, and few would have expected her to leave Antalya with anything but the gold medal around her neck.
Behind her, both Forero and Anderson were clearly working very hard to stay with the flying Finn, both runners grimacing in the final kilometre before the finish line came into view.
However, with just a couple of hundred metres to go, Mononen suddenly started to tire. Forero pressed and Mononen tried to respond, before Anderson – who looked like she was had been dropped and was settling for the bronze medal – made an incredible final effort on the inside which took her past both her rivals.
"I trusted in my 1500m speed, and we did a lot of strong strides in practice to be ready to be sharp at the end. We knew there would be a muddy course, it was going to be down to a quick last stretch," reflected Anderson, looking back at her stunning finish.
Anderson crossed the line in 21:16, eventually coming home five seconds clear of Forero with Mononen a further three seconds back after being unable to respond to either runner’s attacks in the final stages of the race.
With early leader Waldmann finishing sixth and then Tia Wilson 17th, Great Britain – like their men in this age group – took the title for the third successive year but hosts Türkiye, with their three scorers in the top 16, got on the podium for the first time since 2017 and took the silver medals with 38 points, just heading Germany who finished third with 40 points.
Phil Minshull for European Athletics