This year marks 30 years since the championship was first held in Alnwick
The SPAR Cross Country European Championships are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, taking place in Antalya, Turkey on December 8th.
The prestigious event was first held in 1994 at Alnwick Castle in Great Britain, famous for its role as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films.
Since its first edition, the championships have gone from strength to strength, being held every year, apart from 2020, on the European athletics calendar.
Jacob Ingebrigtsen (Mark Shearman)
In 1994, the competition featured only senior men’s and women’s races, a stark contrast to today’s more diverse format, which includes under-23, under-20 and mixed relay categories.
Portugal’s Paulo Guerra won in 16 seconds to win the first ever European cross-country champion, with his team-mate Domingos Castro finishing second and Spain’s Antonio Serrano securing the bronze.
Interestingly, Guerra almost pulled out of the race just days before the event, as reported AW 1994“He was concerned about a sinus problem.” Later, his decision to compete paid off.
The women’s race saw a memorable victory for Ireland’s Katerina McKiernan, who was determined to win gold after her streak of three World Championship runners-up finishes.
AW archive 1994
Spain’s Iulia Vaquero finished just one second behind McKiernan, while Romania’s Elena Fidatov took the bronze.Romania also won the team event, just two points ahead of France and Portugal.
Over the years, the championships have seen many of Europe’s greatest distance runners claim gold, with Paula Radcliffe making her mark in the late 1990s, winning in 1998 and 2003, while Hayley Yelling also won Great Britain in both 2004 and 2009.
In 2014, Gemma Steele led Great Britain to a historic one-two finish in the women’s race alongside Kate Avery as the team topped the medal table.
Gemma Steel beats Kate Avery to win gold (Mark Shearman)
On the men’s side, Mo Farah secured his first senior title at the 2006 championships, marking the start of his legendary cross country career.
Most recently, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen dominated the senior men’s event, winning back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. Ingebrigtsen, who missed last year’s competition due to injury, will look to defend his title in Turkey this December.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen will compete for European championship titles in Turkey
Under-20 races were introduced in 1997, with athletes such as Ingebrigtsen (2016-2019) and Karolin Njerkeli Grevdal (2009), Nadia Battokletti (2018-2019) and Great Britain’s Innes Fitzgerald (2023) making their mark on the international stage.
An under-23 category was added in 2006, with Great Britain’s Will Barnicoat and Megan Keith both winning gold last year.
Will Barnicoat (Getty)
The medley relay recently debuted in 2017. Last year, France won the medley relay in dramatic fashion, beating Great Britain and the Netherlands to take the title.
Check out our coverage of this weekend’s event in 2024. You can also find all our original coverage of the European Cross Country Championship since 1994: Athletics Weekly Archive.
(From the first issue in December 1945 to the present, current subscribers to our magazine can access this resource for free, while non-subscribers can pay just £399 a month.full access.
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