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Anderson and Barnicoat Take Gold in U23; Fitzgerald and Laros Win U20

By mitchpa on December 9, 2024 • ( 0 )

By Clay Shaw
Photography by Maja Hitij / Getty Images for European Athletics

12.8.24 Antalya, Turkey; SPAR European Cross Country Championships 2024—Phoebe Anderson of Great Britain pulled off the biggest surprise win of the day by winning the U23 Women’s 6 KM race by five seconds in 21:16. Anderson stayed behind the lead pack as it dwindled from eight runners to three by the final lap. On the home straight Anderson outkicked the more heralded Maria Forero of Spain and pre-race favorite Ilona Mononen of Finland. Forero, the U20 champ in Turin 2022, was second in 21:21. Mononen was third in 21:24. Pia Schlattmann of Germany took fourth in a sprint with Camille Place of France who was fifth; both women were timed in 21:33. Great Britain won the team title followed by Turkey, Germany, Spain, and Ireland.

Will Barnicoat of Great Britain seems to have a knack for winning. Nicholas Griggs of Ireland has a had a history of falls, this year at the start. The U23 men’s race started aggressively, with Griggs and a few others falling and having to catch up through the entire field. Gabor Karsai of Hungary bolted to the early lead, but he ended up 31^st, 48 seconds back. Barnicoat won the 6 KM race in 18:27. Griggs was second in 18:28. David Stone of Great Britain, who lost his front bib during the race, was third in 18:31. Andrii Atamaniuk of Ukraine was fourth in 18:35. Luc Le Baron of France was fifth in 18:38. 76 finished the U23 men’s 6 KM. Great Britain once again won the team title, with France, Denmark, Ireland, and Spain rounding out the top five.

Innes Fitzgerald of Great Britain repeated as U20 champion with a solid win over the 4.5 KM course in Antalya. Fitzgerald powered away from the rest of the field on the long, home straight. Fitzgerald’s time of 15:47 was 11 seconds ahead of teammate Jess Bailey who earned silver in 15:58. In an all-out sprint for the bronze, Sofia Thogersen of Denmark edged Julia Ehrle of Germany, both timed at 16:03. Jade LeCorre of France was fifth in 16:18. 90 finished the 4.5 KM course with Great Britain winning another team title. France was second, followed by Italy, Switzerland, and Sweden.

Niels Laros of Netherlands was favored to win in Belgium in 2023; he didn’t. He returned to Euro XC as the favorite once again, and he came through with a two-second win in 14:07. Fighting all the way was George Couttie of Great Britain who was second in 14:09. A shout out to Virginia Tech where he runs collegiately. Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen of Norway was third in 14:16. Magnus Oyen also of Norway, was fourth in 14:16. Karl Ottfalk of Sweden was fifth in 14:18. 94 athletes and 19 teams completed the U20 4.5 KM race. Norway was the team champion, followed by Netherlands, France, Great Britain, and Spain.

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