Europe’s season ending continental titles in athletics were determined in Brussels’ very classical style muddy course at Laeken Park. More than 500 athletes contested for six individual and seven team titles out there as Great Britain ruled the event by taken seven golds in total; however, they’ve took only one seniors crown (women’s team) out of four.
Norway’s distinguished cross runner Karolina Bjerkeli Grovdal has proved she’s the best of the continent in the discipline. Grovdal, 33, distanced herself from very talented Italian Nadia Battocletti and rest of the chasers in the mid lap. She pushed up hardly and established biggest gap on the finish over the field by 45 seconds and took her third consecutive crown in European Cross. The joyful Norwegian has 10 European Cross medals since 2006, all of them won by individually. She also became only second women to have a hat-trick after 4-time winner Yasemin Can of Turkey.
Former U20 and U23 European Cross champion Nadia Battocletti of Italy finished second in her first senior ousting at the event. The 23-year-old from Trentino, has capitalized her six laps race in 34:25 to clinched silver. Great Britain has returned to the top of the women’s team ranking after one-year off as Abbie Donnelly helped the team more with her third-place finish individually.
In the men’s side, two-time defender France has lost the title to the host nation Belgium whose secured their very first European team crown, however they’ve celebrated first-ever senior’s men champion in cross-country. Yann Schrub, who also member of 2021-22 winning team, took to the front in penultimate lap and cut the ribbon just three second ahead of Norway’s surprise package Magnus Myhre.
KEITH DISTANCED BY HALF A MILE
Britons has a spectacular quadruple in U23 event after commanding victories both from Will Barnicoat and Megan Keith, former U20 winners at European Cross Country. They were secured a win but a reversing fashion as Barnicoat took it from Frenchman Valentin Bresc in a close finish and Keith recorded biggest winning gap ever in the whole championships history by a massive one minute 23 seconds over Finland’s Ilona Mononen. With the help of these individual crowns, Great Britain has retained in both U23 team titles.
Meanwhile, Brussels’ most catchy finish came in men’s junior race. Axel Vang Christensen, 2021 European U20 champion, regained his title in Brussels with a stunning final stretch sprint. The Dane outclassed Niels Laros, double European U20 champion and one of the brightest young talents of the year, in the final 50 metres of the course.
