Ingebrigtsen and the Spanish mixed relay, for the European cross country crown

The Spanish Thierry Ndikumwenayo will try to face the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen and the Italian Yemaneberhan Crippa this Sunday at the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya (Türkiye)with Norwegian Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal seeking her fourth consecutive continental title, while the Spanish mixed relay, with Adrián Ben, Marta Pérez, Jesús Gómez and Esther Guerrero, is looking for a medal.

Türkiye is hosting the European Cross Country Championships for the first time in its thirtieth edition. The setting is Dokuma Park, a recreation facility located in the north of the city, on land adjacent to the park, with a lap route of 1,510 meters, plus another first route of 1,800 meters. It has a relatively flat planimetry, with two hills and three artificial obstacles and runs on grass and not hard roads, with artificial areas of mud and sand.

These European cross country events bring together 566 athletes from 39 countries, with five European champions standing out in Rome this year.: the Norwegians Jakob Ingebrigtsen (1,500/5,000) and Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal (half marathon), the Italians Yemaneberhan Crippa (half marathon) and Nadia Battocletti (5,000/10,000) and the Frenchman Alexis Miellet (3,000 ).

Frenchman Yann Schrub will defend his title in the absolute men’s category won in Brussels a year ago, something that will not be easy given the high level of participation in this edition.

Ingebrigtsen, who starts as a favorite, has a chance to get new metal after winning in Dublin 2021 and Turin 2022 and win the under-20 category four years in a row between 2016 and 2019.

2023 silver medalist Magnus Tuv Myhre also returns and, along with Jakob and Filip Ingebrigtsen, form a powerful trio for Norway’s bid for the team title. Filip will be looking to regain his form after failing to finish in his last two appearances at the European Cross Country Championships in 2021 and 2022.

Four of the six athletes who fought in the mud of Brussels last year returned to Spainwith the reinforcements of the European bronze in the 5,000 Thierry Ndikumwenayo, who was just crowned in Itálica, and the veteran Adel Mechaal, who this season became the first Spaniard in cross country of the stature of Atapuerca or Lasarte.

Olympian Abdessamad Oukhelfen, who led the team last year in seventh, along with Nassim Hassaous (7th in 2021), young Aarón Las Heras, who finished 22nd (first European) at the Bathurst world championship last year, and the Madrid native Fernando Si Carro, present in the past in Europe in Rome and national record holder of 3,000 obstacles, complete the team.

Among the absences, a notable absence from the French team was Jimmy Gressierwho declined selection despite winning the trial race at Allonnes last month. Gressier decided to focus on roads this winter.

GROVDAL, RIVAL DEFEATED

Grøvdal will be trying for a record fourth consecutive title in the senior women’s race. The Norwegian is one of five individual gold medalists from the last European Championship in Antalya and will try to win by defeating the main contender, Italian Nadia Battocletti, who hopes to add the absolute crown to her under-20 and under-23 crowns. .

The German Konstanze Klosterhalfen and the Turkish Yasemin Can, four-time world champion, are also looking to do a good job and get a podium that is quite expensive.

For Spain, from the historic team that won silver in Brussels last year, two athletes who finished in the top20 are repeating: Cristina Ruiz (13th) and Carolina Robles (16th).

Robles, current Spanish cross country champion, will run in his fourth consecutive European Championship with Cristina, who had a cross country season with great results. Both will lead a young team with athletes like Idaira Prieto or Carla Arce who, despite their international experience in the minor categories, are making their senior debut. The sextet is completed with Alicia Berzosa, present in the European past in Rome, and Carla Gallardo, who will compete in a European cross country for the first time with the senior team after making her international debut in the category at the European Championship in Munich in 2022.

MIXED RELAY

Since its implementation at Samorín 2017, the mixed relay has produced some very lively raceslike last year in Brussels, when the French athletes, who eventually won, chased the British along with the Dutch in the last stretch in search of gold.

Great Britain is the most successful country in this discipline with three victories (Samorín 2017, Lisbon 2019, Dublin 2021) in six editions and will no doubt be in it again this time.

The French team includes Antoine Senard, the lone returnee from his gold medal-winning team last yearbut her strongest runner as shown on the track was Agathe Guillemot, who finished ninth in the 1500 final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where she broke the 4:00 barrier in all three rounds.

The most experienced and recognized quartet in cross country is Spain, who came to the championship with a very strong team in search of its fifth medal in a European cross country.

The team is led by two athletes who have already won silver at Piedmont 2022: Olympian Adrián Ben and the experienced Jesús Gómez, who won bronze in 2017.

Esther Guerrero’s experience in international finals is another of the mixed team’s strengths, especially since she knows what it’s like to be European champion in the mixed relay (2018) and stand on the podium to collect bronze (2017). The quartet is completed by the national 1500m record holder, Marta Pérez, who last year made history by becoming the first athlete to compete for Spain in indoor, outdoor, road and cross country in the same season.

He will be joined by two-time European indoor 1500m bronze medalist Jesús Gómez; the multiple continental and world 1500 m finalist, Marta Pérez; and Esther Guerrero, the only remaining member of their 2018 Tilburg gold medal-winning team.

The Italian champions will be led by national 1,500m record holders Sintayehu Vissa and Pietro Aresethe latter was a bronze medalist at the European Athletics Championships Rome 2024. Arese also ran in the first stage for the victorious Italians two years ago.