A 36-strong Irish team will take to competition this weekend at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships which take place in Antalya, Türkiye, on Sunday December 8th.

The Irish team will join the over 560 athletes who will represent 39 Member Federations at this year’s championships. Final entries for Antalya 2024 have been published and can be viewed in event-by-event order here.

Antalya 2024 follows last year’s championships in Brussels which saw Ireland’s U20 team claim gold, with Nick Griggs securing individual bronze in the process.

WHERE TO WATCH

The European Athletics Cross Country Championships will be broadcast live on the RTE Player and Eurovision Sport platform from 7.50am on Sunday December 8^th.

RACE BY RACE PREVIEW

8.00am Irish Time: U20 Women (4814m)

Six of last year’s top 10 finishers in the U20 race make a return this year, including Ireland’s Anna Gardiner (East Down AC) who placed 7^th to lead the Irish home in Brussels.

Gardiner will be joined on a competitive looking Irish team which will include Lucy Foster (Willowfield Harriers), Annabel Morrison  (Enniskillen RC), Avril Millerick (Youghal AC), Eva Bartlett (Lagan Valley AC), and Caitlin Hughes (Swinford AC).

The race looks ultra-competitive with defending champion Innes FitzGerald (GB) bidding to become the fourth woman to win back-to-back titles since U20 races came onto the programme as an official medal event in 1997.

Brussels podium finishers Sofia Thøgersen (DEN) and Jade Le Corre (FRA) also return in what looks a race with plenty of depth throughout.

8.29am Irish Time: U20 Men (4814m)

The men’s U20 team head to Antalya as defending champions and once again look to be one of Ireland’s best hopes of challenging for the leading team placings on Sunday.

Out to try and defend the men’s U20 title will be national U20 champion Jonas Stafford (UCD AC), Frank McGrath (Lagan Valley AC), Sean Quinn (DSD AC), Noah Harris (Parnell AC), Lughaidh Mallon (UCD AC), and Cormac Dixon (Tallaght AC).

The Dutch team looks particularly strong with last year’s silver medallist Niels Laros likely to be a red-hot favourite. The Dutch runner was outsprinted by Axel Vang Christensen (DEN) in the finishing straight last year, who in turn was followed in by Nick Griggs who secured a brilliant bronze.

9:25am Irish Time: U23 Women (6324m)

The women’s U23 team are sure to be competitive with Emma McEvoy (DSD AC) and Amy Greene (Finn Valley AC) heading for Antalya on the back of their top two placings at nationals. They will be joined on the start-line by Roise Roberts (Candour Track Club) who followed them home in Enniskillen alongside Lucy Holmes (West Waterford AC).

Clubmates Laura Mooney (Tullamore Harriers) and Ava O’Connor (Tullamore Harriers) return from strong cross country performances stateside and are sure to thrive on the faster underfoot conditions.

Finland’s Ilona Mononen could take some stopping in the race for individual honours, while Ireland will face up against strong looking teams from Great Britain, Spain, and Türkiye in the team standings.

10:00am Irish Time: U23 Men (6324m)

Nick Griggs secured the U20 bronze medal at these championships twelve months ago and graduates to the U23 ranks alongside the ever-impressive Niall Murphy (Ennis Track AC) who took the senior silver medal at nationals. They will join an experienced team which also includes Cathal O’Reilly (Kilkenny City Harriers), Matthew Lavery (North Belfast Harriers), Paul Hartnett (East Cork AC), and Callum Morgan (CNDR Track Club).

Few will rule the young team out of contention, but it looks another race filled with quality throughout.

Great Britain’s Will Barnicoat will look to go back-to-back in the race as he leads out a strong team from Great Britain, while the French also look to have a decent medal chance on paper. Last year’s U20 winner Axel Vang Christensen (Den) could also have a huge say on proceedings.

10:31am Irish Time: Senior Women (7834m)

Ann Marie McGlynn (Letterkenny AC) heads for Türkiye on the back of her remarkable championship double across the marathon and senior cross this year. McGlynn is no stranger to success at these championships and she’ll join a senior women’s team with bundles of euro cross experience.

McGlynn will be joined on the team by debutants Niamh Allen (Leevale AC) and Cheryl Nolan (St Abban’s AC), as well as now seasoned cross country stars Danielle Donegan (Tullamore Harriers), Fiona Everard (Bandon AC), and Mary Mulhare (Portlaoise AC).

The senior women have been one of the most prolific medal-winning-teams in Irish athletics over recent times, and although not one of the favourites to medal on Sunday, no one will be surprised to see them outperform their expected placing once again.

Norway’s Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal, Italy’s Nadia Battocletti, and Türkiye’s Yasemin Can will likely contest the race for individual honours.

11:11am Irish Time: Senior Men (7834m)

The senior men’s team is spearheaded by recent national champion Keelan Kilrehill (Moy Valley AC) who delivered a gold-medal-winning performance over the 7,500m distance in Enniskillen back on November 17th.

Kilrehill will be joined in the senior men’s team by Cormac Dalton (Mullingar Harriers), Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers), Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC), William Fitzgerald (Craughwell AC), and Pierre Murchan (Dublin City Harriers).

Kilrehill and Dalton both featured on the Irish senior men’s team that finished fourth at last year’s championships in Brussels, with Dalton finishing inside the top ten individually.

A similar team performance could be one the cards once again on Sunday with few discounting the Irish team’s challenge.

After missing last year through injury, Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be a worthy favourite come Sunday. In Antalya, the Norwegian will be going for his third men’s senior title having triumphed in Dublin 2021 and Turin 2022. He also won the men’s U20 race four years in a row between 2016-2019.

The team title went to Belgium last time round and individual bronze medallist Robin Hendrix heads up their title defence, alongside John Heymans and Isaac Kimeli, who also contributed to team gold in 2023.

TEAM IRELAND:

• 123.ie National Cross Country Championships Report (17.11.2024): Click HERE
• European Cross Country Championships Official Website & Timetable HERE
• 2024 European Cross Country Championships Selection Policy HERE

• Updates and interviews on Athletics Ireland’s Instagram page throughout the day.