Innes FitzGerald, Will Barnicoat and Phoebe Anderson help produce impressive medal haul, while Battocletti makes history and Ingebrigtsen returns with victory
The 30th edition of the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya (December 8) delivered exceptional performances, with Olympic medallists clinching medals in both the senior men’s and women’s events.
Great Britain once again emerged as the dominant force of the competition, leading the medal tally with an impressive 12 medals, including six golds, finishing seven medals ahead of Italy, who finished in second place.
The busy schedule came to a close as Jakob Ingebrigtsen made his return to the competition, as the Olympic 5000m champion reclaimed the senior men’s title. Having missed last year’s event due to injury, the Norwegian made his mark on the European stage, securing the victory he had previously claimed in 2021 and 2022.
Senior men’s race (Getty)
Shortly before, Italy’s Nadia Battocletti claimed her first senior women’s title, upgrading the silver she earned in Brussels last year. The European 5000m and 10,000m champion described her victory as completing the ‘tripletta’, having won golds in the under-20, under-23 and now senior categories – making history as the first woman to do so.
Italy also had another reason to celebrate, with their mixed relay team taking gold, while Niels Laros from the Netherlands told gold in the under-20 men’s race.
However, it was Great Britain that dominated the championships. Among the individual champions were Innes FitzGerald (under-20 women), Phoebe Anderson (under-23 women) and Will Barnicoat who retained his title (under-23 men).
Jess Bailey and George Couttie earned silver medals in their under-20 races, while David Stone secured bronze in the under-23 men’s event. The British mixed relay team also contributed to the medal haul with a silver.
Team successes were also a highlight for Great Britain. The women’s under-20 and under-23 teams, as well as the men’s under-23 team, all claimed gold medals. The senior women’s team earned silver, while the senior men’s team took home bronze. The only British team to fall short of a medal was the under-20 men’s squad, who finished in a narrow fourth place.
Innes FitzGerald (Getty)
FitzGerald dominates once again as Laros finally gets his victory
Innes FitzGerald entered the under-20 women’s race as the defending champion, having claimed the title in 2023. Despite the pressure of retaining her crown, the 18-year-old remained composed and relaxed throughout the race, showcasing her trademark confidence on the Turkish course.
For the first half of the four-lap race, FitzGerald was joined by her team-mate Jess Bailey and Germany’s Julia Ehrle. However, as the final lap approached, the British athlete surged ahead from the pack to deliver a commanding victory by 11 seconds.
Bailey, too, produced an impressive performance, holding on to secure second place – an upgrade from her eighth place last year. The battle for the final podium spot was intense, with Denmark’s Sofia Thøgersen edging out Ehrle in a dramatic sprint finish to claim bronze.
“It’s nice to defend the win and defend my title,” FitzGerald told AW. “There was definitely a lot of pressure on me and I felt a lot of nerves earlier on but if anything, that gave me lots of fuel to push it on and try and enjoy it.”
With FitzGerald and Bailey finishing in the top two, Great Britain’s team victory was almost assured, with further help from Eleanor Strevens in sixth. Together, they secured the team gold ahead of France and Italy.
Niels Laros (Getty)
While FitzGerald’s victory had been clear-cut, the men’s under-20 race proved much more competitive. Niels Laros, fresh off a stellar track season where he finished sixth in the 1500m Olympic final at just 19, capped off his junior career with a hard-fought gold medal.
Laros faced a challenge in the closing stages from Great Britain’s George Couttie, who pushed him towards the line but Laros found an extra burst of energy in the final metres.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a year,” said Laros. “In those last few metres I was mostly thinking ‘this will not happen to me again,’ but I just felt really good and I was able to keep sprinting so I’m really happy.”
Couttie, who has spent the past year training in Virginia, claimed a well-earned silver medal after a standout season, including reaching the final of the 1500m at the World Under-20 Championships in Lima. The young Brit also most recently finished 14th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
“It’s great to end my under-20 career on a high. I wanted to win but he (Niels Laros) was too quick. I left everything on the course, though, which is all that matters.”
– George Couttie after earning Euro Cross U20 silver in Antalya.
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— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) December 8, 2024
Norway’s Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen took bronze, leading his team to gold – with help from his team-mate Magnus Øyen who finished fourth – as the pair battled it out in a sprint finish.
Norway’s victory in the event came ahead of the Netherlands, who finished second, with France third. Great Britain narrowly missed out on a podium finish, finishing fourth.
Phoebe Anderson (Getty)
Anderson makes her mark as Barnicoat makes it triple
Phoebe Anderson, like her fellow Brit George Couttie, has a strong connection to the American collegiate system, having spent the last three years training at Columbia. Her experience paid off as she claimed victory in the women’s under-23 race, a title she secured in impressive fashion.
Entering the race, eyes were on Finland’s Ilona Mononen, who had claimed silver last year behind GB’s Megan Keith and this year made her Olympic debut in the 3000m steeplechase in Paris.
As the race approached the final stretch, Mononen, Anderson and Spain’s Maria Forero were neck and neck. Anderson, however, found an extra gear in the closing metres, surging ahead to secure a victory, five seconds clear of Forero in second place while Mononen finished third.
“I felt really easy and slow at the start so I knew there was going to be a breakaway,” said Anderson. “I could feel myself during the last kilometre not feeling so good so I tucked behind them [the leading pack] until the last barrier.
“Then I thought, ‘why not give it my all’ and if I die, then I get third. I’m sure my form was terrible but I didn’t care I just wanted to get to the start line first, it was such a shock.”
Anderson’s victory also helped lead the GB team to gold, with Mia Waldmann finishing sixth and Tia Wilson securing 17th place.
Will Barnicoat (Getty)
The under-23 men’s race was similarly thrilling and it also saw a British victory. Will Barnicoat, who had previously denied Ireland’s Nick Griggs a gold in the under-20 race in a dramatic finish in Italy in 2022, did so again, pulling away from Griggs in the final metres to claim the win.
It was Barnicoat’s third win at these championships after winning the under-23 title in 2023, as he entered the race eager to prove himself once more.
“Another one in the bag and I’m really happy,” Barnicoat told AW after completing a hat-trick of wins. “I knew if I could pull away in that last 100m then I would have it – and I got it.
“I was a little bit nervous with Griggs behind me but I just peddled down and went as quick as I could and the speed drills I’ve been doing on Mondays have certainly helped.”
Barnicoat wasn’t the only Brit to shine in the men’s under-23 race. David Stone, making a comeback after several years of injury setbacks, delivered one of his best performances. Both Barnicoat and Stone train together at the University of Birmingham, which had a strong presence at the championships.
“It was today last year that I had my first surgery on my right ankle so it’s crazy that exactly 365 days later I’m back and running at the best I’ve ever been running,” said Stone. “I’ve waited so long to be back racing and for it to just come off straight away feels amazing.”
Stone’s performance, along with Barnicoat’s victory, helped secure another team gold for Great Britain, with Brett Rushman’s 13th place contributing to the win. France took second place, while Denmark rounded out the podium in third.
Nadia Battocletti (Getty)
Ingebrigtsen and Battocletti round off 2024 with more wins
Nadia Battocletti has firmly established herself as one of the leading names in European cross country, clinching the senior women’s title to complete an extraordinary sweep.
After securing victories in the European 5000m and 10,000m this year, along with an Olympic silver in the 10,000m, Battocletti became the first woman in history to win gold in the under-20, under-23 and senior categories, completing what Italians call the “tripletta.”
Upgrading her senior silver medal from last year’s event, she timed this race to perfection. Although France’s Manon Trapp initially seized the lead, Battocletti kept a measured pace, allowing Trapp to fade as the race progressed.
As the final lap unfolded, the Italian athlete surged ahead from the rest. Her powerful finish, particularly on the home stretch, secured her victory by an impressive 11-second margin, as Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen and Turkey’s Yasemin Can took silver and third respectively.
“I’m really happy to complete the European cross-country ‘tripletta’ of under-20, under-23 and senior titles. So it’s really good progression. Today was a really tough race.”
– Nadia Battocletti on victory for Italy in Antalya
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— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) December 8, 2024
“I am so happy about my progression and I have completed the tripletta,” said Battocletti. “The course was really technical which I really appreciated. For me it is a dream to be European champion on the track, an Olympic medallist, and now the title today is amazing.”
For Klosterhalfen, her emotional sec0nd place marked a poignant comeback after missing the track season due to exhaustion taking over her body. Speaking to AW, she admitted that she had entered the race with modest expectations, hoping for a top-10 finish.
Battocletti’s victory also propelled Italy to team gold, with Great Britain claiming silver thanks to strong individual performances from Kate Axford (10th), Jess Gibbon (12th) and Izzy Fry (14th). Belgium rounded out the podium with bronze.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Getty)
The men’s race featured an eagerly anticipated return of Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who had been absent from the championships last year due to injury. The Norwegian athlete, a two-time defending senior champion and multiple under-20 winner, stayed with the lead pack throughout the race.
Early on, it was Great Britain’s Hugo Milner who took an unexpected lead, but Ingebrigtsen, as he usually does, gradually moved through the field.
By the final stages, he was joined by Italy’s Yeman Crippa. With a calm and calculated push, Ingebrigtsen surged ahead to secure a convincing victory by nine seconds, capping off an already stellar year that included Olympic 5000m gold.
Ingebrigtsen, who has now won seven individual golds at the European Cross Country Championships, said: “I think if you can’t feel like you will perform then you will not do it.”
MORE HERE: Video interviews from Antalya
He added: “The people who are not here are most likely not able to perform in these different races. We all try to find things where we can perform and hopefully to fight for medals and that’s how the world works.”
Crippa, who has twice won the under-20 title at these championships, claimed his first senior medal with a well-earned silver while Belgium’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo took the bronze.
In the team competition, Spain triumphed with gold, Belgium secured silver and Great Britain earned the bronze with strong runs from Rory Leonard (9th), Hugo Milner (11th), and Tomer Tarragano (19th).
Pietro Arese (Getty)
Close finish in the mixed relay
Introduced to the European Cross Country Championships in 2017, the mixed relay event was designed to bring a fresh and exciting element of competition.
Featuring teams of two men and two women, with no fixed order, the event offers plenty of room for strategy and creativity. Last year in Brussels, team’s experimented with various tactics, adding an unpredictable dynamic to the race.
This year, however, all teams followed the same order, leading to a thrilling showdown between the top three contenders – Italy, Great Britain and the defending champions, France. The race was decided in a dramatic sprint to the finish.
In the final stretch, Italy’s Pietro Arese, France’s Simon Bedard and GB’s Tyler Bilyard were all in the hunt for victory but it was Arese that came out on top. France settled for silver, while Bilyard crossed the line to secure bronze for Great Britain, alongside team-mates Josh Lay, Maddie Deadman and Elise Thorner.
Check out our video interviews from Antalya here.
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