After an extensive weekend of cross country racing around Europe with many countries staging their selection races, national teams for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa, Portugal on 14 December have started to take shape.
This is what we know with the SPAR European Cross Country Championships, which will be streamed live on the European Athletics website, less than three weeks away.
Ndikumwenayo and Maayouf confirm places on Spanish team
The top three Spaniards in both the men’s and women’s senior races at the Cross Internacional de Atapuerca on Sunday (23) all gained automatic selection for next month’s SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
Thierry Ndikumwenayo was the leading Spaniard in the senior men’s race, finishing third overall. He won bronze individually last year in Antalya where he also led Spain to the team title.
He will be joined on the team by 2016 European 5000m champion Ilias Fifa and Said Mechaal, the younger brother of Adel, who finished fourth and fifth respectively.
In the women’s race, European marathon silver medallist Majida Maayouf dropped down in distance to win the domestic spoils in fifth overall. She secured one of the three automatic qualifying berths along with Idaira Prieto and Isabel Barreiro in sixth and seventh respectively.
FitzGerald dominates U20 trial race in Liverpool
Can anyone stop Innes FitzGerald from winning a third successive U20 title at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa? The 19-year-old was in dominant form at the Liverpool Cross Challenge on Saturday (22), winning the trial race by a whopping 59 seconds.
In the senior races, Cari Hughes won the women’s title ahead of Poppy Tank and Izzy Fry, all of whom were part of Great Britain’s silver medal-winning team at the 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, while training partners Scott Beattie and Rory Leonard took a 1-2 in the senior men’s race.
Leonard was the highest-placed Brit at last year’s SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya where he finished ninth, leading the Brits to team silver behind Spain.
At the Portuguese Cross Country Championships which was held in Lagoa at the same venue which will host the SPAR European Cross Country Championships, Mariana Machado won her fifth successive senior women’s title to confirm her place on the Portuguese team while Jose Carlos Pinto defeated last year’s champion Miguel Moreira for the men’s title.
Brian Fay defeated Nick Griggs (the latter is still eligible for the U23 race in Lagoa) in the senior men’s race at the Irish Cross Country Championships in Derry on Sunday while Fiona Everard won the senior women’s title.
At the Austrian Cross Country Championships, Kevin Kamenschak, who won medals behind Niels Laros in both the 1500m and 5000m at the 2023 European Athletics U20 Championships, won his country’s senior 9.1km cross country title. At 21, he is also eligible for the U23 race in Lagoa.
Schrub and Zarbo win domestic battles in Allonnes
At the Cross d’Allonnes on Sunday, Yann Schrub finished second in the senior men's race to punch his ticket for Lagoa.
However, it is not certain whether Schrub will choose to compete. He has stated that his primary goal this winter is the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee where he will be part of a French team which is also likely to include world 10,000m champion Jimmy Gressier and former European 10km record-holder Etienne Daguinos.
Behind Schrub, Fabien Palcau and Simon Bedard finished fourth and fifth respectively and will helm a French team that will still harbour medal aspirations in Lagoa despite the absence of their star names.
In the women’s race, Alessia Zarbo transferred her excellent recent form on the roads to the country with a second-place finish, sealing her place on the team for Lagoa. In recent months, Zarbo has broken French records in the 10km (31:00) and half marathon (68:20).
Antoine Senard and Emilie Girard, both of whom were part of France’s silver medal-winning team in the mixed relay last year, won the short course races on the Saturday to secure selection for the mixed relay in Lagoa.
