Nadia Battocletti opened her cross country season in formidable form with victory at the Cross Internacional de Atapuerca, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold event, in Spain on Sunday (23).
In cold and windy conditions, Battocletti won the senior women’s 6.821km in 22:21 by a comfortable margin over Kenya’s Sheila Jebet in 22:34 with last year’s winner Daisy Jepkemei from Kazakhstan third in 22:35.
Battocletti has already expressed her intentions to defend her title at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa on 14 December and the 25-year-old is clearly in excellent early season form after a superlative track campaign culminating with two medals at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
"I'm happy with the win in a race made difficult by the weather, with its extreme cold and wind. But I'm happy to have regained my confidence in cross on a beautiful course, staying focused until the end to be able to choose the right moment," said Battocletti as quoted by FIDAL.
Great Britain’s Megan Keith, who won a bronze medal in the 10,000m behind Battocletti at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, just missed out on a place on the podium in fourth in 22:37 with European marathon silver medallist Majida Maayouf the leading Spaniard in fifth in 23:23.
Battocletti also becomes the first European winner of the senior women’s race in Atapuerca since Marta Dominguez won in 2006 and she follows in the footsteps of an illustrious list of past winners which includes Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba (2009-10) and Kenyans Linet Masai (2011) and Beatrice Chebet (2022-23).
Battocletti is also due to race next weekend at the Cross Internacional de la Constitucion in Alcobendas on the road to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa on 14 December.
Ndikumwenayo finishes third as Spanish team for Lagoa takes shape
In the senior men’s race, European cross country bronze medallist Thierry Ndikumwenayo finished third on home soil in 20:14 behind Kenya’s Mathew Kipsang (20:05), outsprinting Ndikumwenayo’s training partner Rodrigue Kwizera from Burundi for victory by one second.
The top three Spaniards in both senior races also secured automatic selection for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa next month.
Maayouf was the top Spanish finisher in the women's race in fifth ahead of Idaira Prieto and Isabel Barreiro in sixth and seventh respectively while Ndikumwenayo will be joined on the senior men's team for Lagoa by Ilias Fifa and Said Mechaal who finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Led by Ndikumwenayo, Spain won gold in the senior men's race at last year's edition of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya.
Full results here
