Athletics Ireland have selected a team of four athletes to represent Ireland at the World Cross Country Championships that take place in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday January 10^th 2026.

The team is headlined by Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock AC) and Fiona Everard (Bandon AC) who both finished tenth individually in the senior races at last weekend’s European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa, Portugal.

Fay, who is an Olympian over 5000m, has had a memorable Cross Country season to date winning the national senior title in November before being a scoring member of the Irish team who won a historic silver medal (the first by an Irish senior men’s team in 25 years) in Lagoa on Sunday. This will be his debut appearance at the World Cross Country Championships.

Everard returns to this stage having finished 60^th in the senior women’s race at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade. The Cork woman had the run of her life last weekend coming through the field strongly to crack the top ten at the European Cross Country Championships, which backed up her superb victory at the 123.ie National Senior Cross Country Championships last month.

The two other athletes on the team will be making their debut appearances at the World Cross Country Championships.

Niamh Allen (Leevale AC) joins Everard in the senior women’s race. Allen was 10^th at the 2024 European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Türkiye and finished 23^rd in Lagoa last weekend.

Fresh from a 10^th place finish in the U20 Men’s race in Lagoa, Noah Harris (Parnell AC) completes the team. The 18-year-old from Wicklow who is currently studying at the University of Tennessee will be looking to gain valuable experience in Tallahassee.

Mark Kenneally, Athletics Ireland Performance Endurance Lead, commented on the selection:

“We are pleased to be sending a small but high-quality team to the World Cross Country Championships in January,” he said.

“The new place in the calendar has meant that a number of our European Cross Country Championship athletes are unavailable, with a focus on other priorities, but we believe that the selected athletes are capable of competing with the best athletes in the world, coming in with exceptional individual performances from Lagoa.

“They have identified the World Cross Country Championships as a key target for them, and we fully expect them to represent us very well,” Kenneally added.

As per the published selection policy, athletes who finished in the top ten individual positions and teams (Senior and U20 only) that finished in the top three positions at the 2025 European Cross Country Championships, where key team members remained eligible for their respective category and were available for selection, were eligible for consideration.

Additionally, individual athletes deemed capable of a top 30 position in Tallahassee would also be considered regardless of their participation or performance at 2025 European Cross Country Championships.

Several key athletes in the above categories have indicated that their performance priorities currently lie elsewhere, with their focus shifting to either the World Indoor Championships, preparing for the outdoor season, or moving onto the road.

TEAM SELECTION:

• 2026 World Cross Country Championships Official Website is HERE
• 2026 World Cross Country Championships Timetable is HERE
• 2026 World Cross Country Championships Selection Policy is HERE