Defending European women’s U20 cross country champion Innes FitzGerald secured her place at this year’s event in Lagoa on 14 December with a dominant victory at the British Trials in Liverpool on Saturday (22).
FitzGerald, winner of the U20 women’s race at Brussels 2023 and Antalya 2024 stayed on course for a hat-trick in Portugal next month as she cruised to victory in characteristic front-running fashion.
She led from the gun and ran relentlessly throughout the 4.4km with no opponent within sight by the finish line.
“It’s nice to have a bit of confidence ahead of those European champs in a few weeks time,” said FitzGerald afterwards. “I always love the Liverpool course and just delivered once again – so much fun.
“I try to just focus on my own race, trying to gage my own efforts and getting the most out pf myself as I can.”
Beattie dominates senior men's race
The senior men’s race was the final race of the day with the course churned up and at its muddiest. But training partners Scott Beattie and Rory Leonard made light work of difficult conditions, skating clear in the opening lap to build an insurmountable gap.
Beattie, who was 9th over 5km at the 2023 World Road Running Championships in Riga, pulled clear before halfway and stormed clear to a superb victory, winning by 15 seconds.
Leonard, 9th in the senior men’s race in last year’s SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, dug in for second place to seal a place for Lagoa 2025 ahead of Richard Slade.
Matthew Ramsden was a surprise winner of the men’s U23 race, timing his run to perfection to clinch a debut appearance at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
The men’s U20 race came down to a sprint finish between two finalists from the Tampere 2025 European Athletics Championships with 5000m runner Michael Clark just outlasting 800m runner Will Rabjohns over the 4.4km course.
Experienced trio pack women's podium
Cari Hughes won a hard-fought senior women’s race cantering clear in the closing stages on a rapidly deteriorating course. It secured her seventh appearance at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
She was closely followed by experienced British international teammates Poppy Tank and Izzy Fry, who also secured a place for Lagoa 2025. Next came the women’s U23 champion from the Antalya 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, Phoebe Anderson who made a successful step into the senior ranks.
Megan Harris won the women’s U23 5.6km race chased home by World University Games 5000m bronze medallist Emily Parker, both clinching selection for Lagoa 2025.
Photos courtesy of Sam Mellish for British Athletics
