Final entries published for 2022 SPAR European Cross Country Championships

Preview | Can anyone dethrone Ingebrigtsen in the shadow of La Mandria Castle?

Preview | Reigning champion Grøvdal renews rivalry with Can and Klosterhalfen in La Mandria Park 

Preview | Italy poised to challenge the Brits for mixed relay gold in La Mandria Park

Preview | Home favourite Battocletti to target fourth successive title in La Mandria Park

Preview | Rising Nordic talents to clash in the U20 races in La Mandria Park

Flashback to Chia 2016 | The arrival of Jakob Ingebrigtsen

<h2>SPAR European Cross Country Championships</h2>
The most important cross country event on the European calendar attracts the best distance running talents from across the continent in the U20, U23 and senior categories for both genders with a mixed relay the most recent addition to the programme.
The next championships will be held in the Belgian capital Brussels on Sunday 10 December 2023, the 29th edition of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
This will be the second time that Brussels has staged the championships after the 2008 edition, and the third championships in Belgium with Charleroi also being the host in 1996.
The first championships was held in Alnwick, Great Britain in 1994 &ndash; when there were only senior men&rsquo;s and senior women&rsquo;s races in contrast to the seven on the programme nowadays &ndash; while the 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships will be held in Antalya, T&uuml;rkiye.

Four months on from the majestic summertime defence of his outdoor continental track crowns in Munich, Jakob Ingebrigtsen produced a regal performance to retain the senior men&rsquo;s title in the winter shadow of La Mandria Castle at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships on the picturesque outskirts of Turin on Sunday (11).
Just two months past his 22nd birthday, the young Norwegian king of European middle distance possessed too much class for his rivals on a truly challenging 9672m course that took the 83-strong field through the luxury of an indoor stretch in the carriage pavilion of the castle on each of six long laps, either side of a brutal 300m climb up and then down the steep hill to the park.
It was on the final ascent that Ingebrigtsen pulled decisively clear of Great Britain's Emile Cairess, giving a thumbs up to the television camera at the end of the indoor section before finishing nine seconds clear of the inspired British cross country champion.
In doing so, the Olympic 1500m and world 5000m champion collected a sixth successive European cross country title, having claimed an unprecedented four at U20 level before his maiden senior success in Fingal-Dublin 12 months ago.
He also became only the third man to retain the senior title, after the great nine-time champion Serhiy Lebid (2001-08, plus 1998 and 2010), who was fittingly in Turin as manager of the Ukrainian team, and Portugal&rsquo;s four-time-winner Paulo Guerra (1994-95, 1999-2000).
For the record, it also brought Ingebrigtsen&rsquo;s tally of senior European titles close to the brink of double figures at nine (two cross country, four on the track outdoors and three indoors); that the running phenomenon from Sandnes, who claimed the world indoor record at 1500m in February, happens to be a man for all seasons, and all surfaces, is beyond dispute.
Mindful of the distance, as much as the steep hill and the icy conditions, he held back on the opening 970m short lap and was down in eighth place as Italy&rsquo;s reigning European 10,000m champion Yemaneberhan Crippa led the way up the first on the first climb.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
At 22, Jakob Ingebrigtsen has NINE European senior titles to his name across all surfaces! ???? European Champs 2018 ???????? 2022 ???????? European Indoors 2019 ???????? 2021 ???????? European Cross 2021 ???? 2022 ???? Just how many will he win in total? ????<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Piemonte2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Piemonte2022</a> <a href="https://t.co/eOxgL61dCL">pic.twitter.com/eOxgL61dCL</a>
&mdash; European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1601939762461507587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
On the second long lap, though, Ingebrigtsen steadily worked his way up to join Crippa in a lead group that also included Cairess, Belgium&rsquo;s 2018 silver medallist Isaac Kimeli, France&rsquo;s European 10,000m bronze medallist Yann Schrub and Germany&rsquo;s Filimon Abraham.
The Norwegian eased to the front for the first time on the long climb on lap three, but the first move of note came at the halfway point.
Cairess, the 2019 European U23 10,000m bronze medallist, put his foot down and opened a gap of some 15 metres. Ingebrigtsen, working hard on the steep descent, managed to close it, drawing Kimeli with him.
With two laps to go, that left three men in the hunt for gold. Ingebrigtsen waited until the hill on the final lap before putting daylight between himself and the other two.
He reached the finish line in 29:33, nine seconds ahead of Cairess, with Kimeli holding off the fast-finishing Crippa for bronze and Abraham in fifth.
&ldquo;It was a tough race and I&rsquo;m very happy with the outcome,&rdquo; said Ingebrigtsen, the reigning champion of Europe at cross country, at 1500m and 5000m outdoors and 1500m and 3000m indoors.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been doing a lot of good training and I knew I was in good shape coming here but you don&rsquo;t know the course and you don&rsquo;t know the competition. I tried to relax during the race because 10km is a long race for me. I needed to save my energy to do a good race in total," he reflected.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
There's just no stopping Jakob Ingebrigtsen! ???? Back-to-back senior titles at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships and a sixth successive gold medal in total! ????<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Piemonte2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Piemonte2022</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/Norsk_Friidrett?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Norsk_Friidrett</a>) <a href="https://t.co/TcbhSZZIn4">pic.twitter.com/TcbhSZZIn4</a>
&mdash; European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1601923382341427200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
He achieved that aim but was unable to secure a team medal to go with the bronze won by Norway last year. In a fiercely contested battle, this time they had to be content with fifth place.
Ingebrigtsen&rsquo;s older brothers have both tastes individual success at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships but Filip, the senior champion in 2018, failed to finish and Henrik, the U23 winner in 2012, was down in 23rd place.
Cairess was something of a surprise package after finishing a disappointing tenth in the 10,000m final at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships 10,000m but has had a superb winter so far.
&ldquo;I let myself down in Munich,&rdquo; said Cairess. &ldquo;I just wanted to do myself justice here. I was also 60th in my last year in the U23 European cross country race, so I wanted to make up for that too. I felt in good shape. I thought I had an outside chance of a medal. Jakob was just on a different level to everyone else in the race.&rdquo;
France pipped Italy to the team title by just one point, 24 to 25, retaining their crown from 2021 with a scoring trio of Bastian Augusto (6th), Schrub (7th) and 2018 European 10,000m champion Morhad Amdouni (11th) edging out the home team&rsquo;s Crippa (4th), Yohannes Chiappinelli (8th) and Osama Zoghlami (13th).
The battle for bronze was even closer with Spain and Belgium locked together on 36 points. Spain, led by European 5000m silver medallist Mohamed Katir in eighth, had a marginally superior third counter, with Carlos Mayo finishing 17th and two positions ahead of Belgium&rsquo;s Michael Somers.
Full results <a href="https://piemonte22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. Simon Turnbull for European Athletics
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Report | Ingebrigtsen is a man for all seasons as he triumphs again

Karoline Bjerkeli Gr&oslash;vdal retained her SPAR European Cross Country Championships senior women&rsquo;s title in Piemonte-La Mandria Park on Sunday (11) after proving the stronger in a fascinating and enthralling battle with Germany&rsquo;s reigning European 5000m champion Konstanze Klosterhalfen.
The Norwegian moved away from Klosterhalfen on the final downhill stretch just 200 metres from the finish to shake off her rival, a two-time U20 champion at these championships, before crossing the line in 26:25 after 7662m of running around the La Mandria Park.
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A tired Klosterhalfen finished four seconds in arrears in 26:29 with her teammate Alina Reh a distant third in 27:19 after a four-way sprint for the bronze medal.
"I didn't do many races this year [during the cross country season] because I was preparing for this one here. I was tired going into the last lap, and I felt that in the last metres, but I knew that going down the hill that I am good at that,&rdquo; reflected the smiling Gr&oslash;vdal, who has now won a medal at the last seven championships and taken her tally to three continental cross country titles, having won the U20 crown in 2009. &nbsp;
&ldquo;I knew I had to give it all when going down, and that was what I did. I used to be a track runner, but I know that I am strong in the cross - especially after winning last year - so the technical part is good for me. Today, I felt quite strong going up the hill, and I think that is the reason I took the gold here. &ldquo;I didn't realise that Yasemin Can had dropped out. After the first big lap I managed get ahead Can but, coming into the race, I was convinced that she was going to be the strongest rival,&rdquo; added Gr&oslash;vdal, who is the most successful female athlete in the history of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships with nine medals in total.
Gr&oslash;vdal had made her intentions known from early in the race by featuring at the front and pushed the pace regularly after a fast opening few hundred metres, a feature of all the races on the day.
Leading the way after the opening two short laps, she was initially accompanied by Klosterhalfen, Türkiye&rsquo;s four-time champion and 2022 European 10,000m champion Yasemin Can, Israel's Selamawit Teferi and Great Britain&rsquo;s Jessica Warner-Judd.
By three kilometres, the leading group was down to a trio with Can trying to test Gr&oslash;vdal and Klosterhalfen. However, the Turk started to struggle and dramatically ran out of gas towards the end of the second of four long laps of 1440m, at one point being reduced to walking at the top of the short, sharp, steep hill that caused so many runners problems.
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With Can quickly disappearing out of contention from the five-kilometre point &ndash; dropping out less than a kilometre later &ndash; it was left to Grovdal and Klosterhalfen to go head-to-head; and for onlookers what a thrilling battle it was over the remainder of the race with the pair swapping regularly swapping the lead
On the flat stretches, Klosterhalfen looked the more comfortable but on the hills, especially those sloping downwards, it was Grovdal who was clearly the more assured. At the bell, Klosterhalfen had opened a small two-metre gap, but Grovdal gritted her teeth and stayed with the German.
Early in the final lap, Klosterhalfen slipped slightly twice, and slight panic was visible on her face. Grovdal probably unable to see her pained expressions as she was just to her rear at this point but will have assessed that she was vulnerable and so it proved as the pair approached the finish. With arms flailing, Klosterhalfen skidded and slid down the final decent albeit of only about 20 metres but Grovdal took it literally and metaphorically in her stride and despite lacking much of a sprint finish she was still able to pull away from Klosterhalfen, who took her first European cross medal in the senior ranks after also getting an U23 silver in 2017. Behind the leading pair, the former U23 champion and 2021 bronze medallist Alina Reh made it two Germans on the podium after starting very conservatively but coming through strongly from two kilometres into the race.
At one point she looked to be on her way to the bronze but her teammates Hanna Klein and Miriam Dattke, as well as Teferi, never gave up their own hopes of an individual medal.
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Down the short 46 metre home straight, Klein tried to use her 1500m speed to overtake Reh, but the latter was just able to hold off her colleague by a matter of a few centimetres, and the pair were given the same finishing time.
However, the 2-3-4 finish for Germany comfortably secured them the senior women&rsquo;s team title for the first time with just nine points, following on from their silver medals 12 months ago.
Behind Germany, two-time defending champions Great Britain had to settle for second on this occasion with a total of 30 points but continued their streak of getting a senior women&rsquo;s team medal at every edition since 2000, while Ireland added to their excellent day by getting the bronze medals with 50 points.
Full results <a href="https://piemonte22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Phil Minshull for European Athletics
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Report | Grøvdal shows her technical strength to retain her title

As Nadia Battocletti approached the finish line at the end of the 5,722m women&rsquo;s U23 race at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in the winter wonderland of Piemonte-La Mandria Park today (11), the young queen of Italian distance running raised her right arm in triumph, savouring the significance of an historic victory on home ground.
On a day when Great Britain&rsquo;s Charles Hicks proved a class apart in defence of the men&rsquo;s U23 crown, the Italian holder of the women&rsquo;s U23 title brought her winning pedigree to bear in ultimately decisive fashion, finishing 13 seconds clear in a champion-of-champions duel with the 2021 U20 winner Megan Keith of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The vocal home crowd already had an Italian victory in the mixed relay to celebrate and the brilliant Battocletti provided them with a solo success to acclaim.
For the 22-year-old student of construction engineering, who lives in the nearby Trentino region of northern Italy, it was a fourth consecutive continental cross country success.
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1601905341054464001"]
Winner of the U20 title in Tilburg in 2018 and in Lisbon in 2019, before stepping up to U23 champion in Fingal-Dublin a year ago, Battocletti continued her winning run with a performance that was all the more stunning given the long battle for health and fitness that she has been fighting over the past four months.
Having missed the World Athletics Championships in Oregon with injury and hit by glandular fever at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships where she finished seventh in the 5000m, the reigning European U23 champion revealed at the pre-championships press conference on Saturday that she had been on antibiotics until ten days ago.
As if the hilly course and the icy conditions were not testing enough, the home favourite also had to battle against an obdurate rival in the shape of Keith, the 20-year-old Briton who won the U20 race a year ago.
The pair were joined at the front by Irish champion Sarah Healy on the first of four long (1440m) laps but her challenge faded on the next circuit, leaving Battocletti and Keith to battle it out from before halfway.&nbsp;
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Enjoying huge home support, the Italian attempted to break clear on the penultimate circuit, opening a gap on the indoor section through the carriage museum of La Mandria Castle - only for her gritty British rival to close it on the steep downhill stretch.
At the start of the final lap, Battocletti discarded her gloves, then proceeded to deliver the telling blow.
At the foot of the final climb she had a 10-metre advantage. Driving hard with her arms, she built it into a winning lead up the hill. Through the museum and down the side of the hill, she maintained her momentum before crossing the line in 19:55, 13 seconds clear of Keith, whose British teammate Alex Millard took bronze ahead of Amina Maatoug of the Netherlands in fourth.
"To win a title at home has a special taste," Battocletti reflected. "I have won before in the Netherlands, in Portugal and in Ireland. Now I have done it in Italy. It is like a dream. My year has been uphill because of injury and illness but I really wanted this title. It was a tough race because the other girls were strong today."
"My father said to me to increase the pace on the third lap but I think Megan thought the same. She was very strong. It had to be on the last lap instead."
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After crossing the line, Battocletti was hugged by her father and coach Giuliano, who knows what it is like to celebrate a home success, having led Italy to the senior men&rsquo;s team prize with a seventh-placed finish when the championships were first held in Italy, in Ferrara in 1998.
His daughter led Italy to the women&rsquo;s U23 team title in Fingal-Dublin last year but had to settle for silver yesterday, with fellow counters Aurora Bado in 14th and Giovanna Selva 16th respectively.
France took bronze but the Brits were clear winners with ten points, Keith and Millard being brilliantly backed up by Grace Carson in fifth place.
"I&rsquo;m so happy," said Keith. "Nadia&rsquo;s such a good runner, I&rsquo;m buzzing to get second to her. That course was just brutal. Those hills were killers."
Battocletti became only the second runner to claim back-to-back U23 titles, emulating Denmark's Anna Emilie Moller&rsquo;s double in 2018 and 2019, and Hicks did likewise in the men&rsquo;s U23 race, following in the footsteps of France&rsquo;s Jimmy Gressier, who prevailed in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
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A month after claiming the coveted NCAA cross country title, the Stanford University student was to the fore from the off, joined at the front initially by the rival who pushed him the closest in Fingal-Dublin last year, Darragh McElhinney.
Hicks&rsquo; team mate Zak Mahamed and France&rsquo;s Etienne Daguinos made it a lead quartet at the end of the first of four long laps but then McElhinney dropped off the pace, eventually fading to 27th place.
Daguinos also dropped back, leaving the British pair to slug it out on the last two circuits. The decisive move came on the final climb, Hicks forging ahead to win by three seconds, crossing the line in 22:12. Mahamed took silver, while the fast finishing Valentin Bresc snatched bronze from fellow Frenchman Daguinos, just a second separating the pair.
"It&rsquo;s unreal, pulling out the NCAAs and then this in the same year," said Hicks. "It&rsquo;s the perfect season for me."
With Matthew Stonier in eighth, Great Britain came out just on top in a tight tussle for the team title; their tally of 11 points was just three more than France mustered courtesy of Bresc, Daguinos and seventh-placed Antoine Senard.
If McElhinney&rsquo;s run was a disappointment for Ireland, consolation came with the team bronze, with Efrem Gidey fifth, Keelan Kilrehill seventh and Shay McEvoy 15th.
Full results <a href="https://piemonte22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Simon Turnbull for European Athletics
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Report | Battocletti and Hicks reign again in the U23 races in La Mandria Park 

After taking a clean sweep of the medals last year, the Nordic domination in the men&rsquo;s U20 race was expected to continue in the first race of the day at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Piemonte-La Mandria Park on Sunday (11).
But in a morning of shocks in the U20 races, two of the medallists from last year dropped out and the third returning medallist faded out of medal contention on the last lap in the U20 men&rsquo;s 5.7km.
Last year&rsquo;s U20 silver medallist Abdullahi Dahir Rabi from Norway, who took ownership of the long-standing European U20 10,000m record last summer, was the first of the highly vaunted Nordic trio to succumb to the course and the freezing conditions, dropping out in some distress at the start of the the uphill climb on the second long lap.
The second athlete to suddenly drop out was the reigning champion Axel Vang Christensen from Denmark, the British-based 18-year-old who was considered by many the pre-race favourite. But having pushed the pace hard in the early stages, Christensen, who woke up this morning with a cold, lost contact on the penultimate climb towards La Mandria Castle before stepping off the race course.
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This left the Danish - and indeed the Nordic challenge - in the hands of Joel Ibler Lilles&oslash;, who eclipsed Jakob Ingebrigtsen&rsquo;s European indoor U20 3000m record this winter. But after visibly struggling on the uphill section, Lilles&oslash; struggled even more on the downhill section. His legs crumbled on the final descent and fell out of medal contention, eventually fading to 13th.
This left Great Britain&rsquo;s Will Barnicoat and Ireland&rsquo;s European U20 3000m champion Nick Griggs to duke it out for the victory. And there was still even more drama to follow.&nbsp;
After taking the final downhill section so well, Griggs looked to be on course to add to his continental medal tally. But on hard ground which had still not completely thawed, Griggs stumbled in the finishing straight, lost his footing and was overhauled by a charging Barnicoat who had led the Brits to the team title last year.
Barnicoat, who stopped the clock at 17:40 for a one second win, leaves Turin not only with an individual gold medal for posterity but a second team title. He was ably backed up by Sam Mills and Luke Birdseye in fourth (17:54) and fifth (17:56) respectively.
&ldquo;It was a very hard course and in the last lap, I saw the others struggling a bit so I started kicking. I was thinking - &lsquo;OK, this is going to be my chance.&rsquo; Let&rsquo;s hope for the best. I felt I still had something left. I tried to push myself. I have always had a strong finish. I knew that the race was not over until the end and that was also my plan to fight until the very end. I just started sprinting and it was unbelievable. I still cannot believe it,&rdquo; said Barnicoat.
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Griggs cut a forlorn figure in the mixed zone but he did have the consolation of leading Ireland to another team silver - not bad for a runner who doesn&rsquo;t consider himself a cross country runner - with his teammate Dean Casey taking the individual bronze in 17:46.
&ldquo;After that stumble towards the end, it was not what I wanted. It is going to take some time to reflect on, but we have to be supportive. Again, I am not a natural cross country runner, but maybe I proved everyone wrong. I thought I would go out there and give myself a chance, so I put myself there and be brave. Again, I am disappointed I ended the race. I had it in the bag, but I stumbled and lost momentum, so Will capitalised.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m a bit sore but I am glad I could help the team, especially helping those lads getting a silver. I am proud of my race today,&rdquo; said Griggs.
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There was another unexpected result in the women&rsquo;s U20 race as Spain&rsquo;s Maria Forero defeated the more accomplished track exponents for the individual title.
The running in the early stages was taken up by Innes Fitzgerald, the precocious 16-year-old who has already broken the nine minute-barrier for 3000m.
Intriguingly, Fitzgerald travelled from her training base in Exeter in Great Britain to Turin by train for environmental reasons and she started like one, showing no fear against more experienced athletes more than three years her senior.
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But Fitzgerald was eventually joined - and then passed by Forero - who went on to forge to victory in the U20 3.8km in 13:04 ahead of Norway&rsquo;s European U20 1500m champion Ingeborg &Oslash;stgard (13:07) and Finland&rsquo;s Ilona Mononen (13:08), the European U20 3000m champion.
&ldquo;I didn't really expect to win with such a margin over the other girls, let alone take the lead at such an early stage. I felt really strong, but not in my dreams did it occur to me I could have won in the way that I did,&rdquo; said Forero who also led Spain to the team title.
On her international debut, Fitzgerald eventually finished fourth but by virtue of a 2006 birthdate she will be eligible for the U20 race at the next three editions of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
Full results <a href="https://piemonte22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Steven Mills for European Athletics
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Report | Upsets are the theme of the day in the U20 races 

Italy&rsquo;s Gaia Sabbatini timed her anchor leg effort to perfection, sprinting past Rosalia Tarraga of Spain in the home straight to earn the host nation their first ever mixed relay victory in front of a celebrating home crowd at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships at the frost-covered La Mandria Park on the outskirts of Turin today (11).
Never higher than sixth before in the six-year history of the entertaining 4x1500m, the Azzurri quartet held pole position for most of the way but looked like they might lose out on the final leg when Tarraga charged ahead of Sabatini and Anais Bourgoin of France on the steep, twisting downhill section coming out of the indoor section in the carriage museum of La Mandria Castle.
Sabbatini, the reigning European U23 1500m champion, had taken over with a four second leg thanks to Yassin Bouih&rsquo;s third leg effort for Italy but struggled on the steep climb up to the carriage museum.
Tarraga and Bourgoin both caught her but, when it mattered most on the run-in to the line, Sabbatini&rsquo;s 4:01.93 1500m track speed proved decisive. The 23-year-old brought her team home in 13:23, one second ahead of Spain, with France a further seven seconds back in the bronze medal position &ndash; followed closely by Germany in fourth and three-times winners Great Britain and Northern Ireland in fifth.
For Italy, it was a momentous victory on home soil, their first podium finish in the event. Their previous highest placing - sixth - came in the inaugural race in Samorin in 2017.
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They led from the off, thanks to a brilliant opening leg of 3:48 by Pietro Arese. Fourth in the 1500m final at the 2022 Munich European Athletics Championships in Munich in August, he handed a four second led to second leg runner Federica Del Buono &ndash; although the advantage would have probably been much tighter had Spain&rsquo;s Jesus Gomez not dramatically slipped and fallen in the mud and ice on the descent to the changeover zone.
Del Buono, a European indoor 1500m bronze medallist in 2015 - like her father Gianni in 1971 - found the going tough on the steep uphill section and was passed by Romania&rsquo;s Elena Panaet, the 2011 European U20 steeplechase bronze medallist.
Panaet&rsquo;s brilliant 4:37 leg gave Romania the lead at halfway but they faded to a distant eleventh over the final two legs.
Bouih, second in the test event last month, restored the lead to Italy, teeing up the last leg heroics for Sabbatini.
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"I felt very responsible to bring this team to the finish line in the best position and it was very hard. The public was just amazing and it helped us a lot,&rdquo; said Sabbatini who collapsed in the arms of her supportive and ecstatic teammates.
It was also an especially poignant victory for Arese for whom this was a home championship in every sense of the word.&nbsp;
"It was pretty special to run here on home soil. Especially for me, because I am from Turin so it was very emotional. We had the home crowd cheering for us and we did our best to become the European champions," he said.&nbsp;
For Spain, the only previous winners other than Britain, Gomez and Tarraga were backed up on the second and third legs by&nbsp; Solange Pereira, who anchored them to victory in Tilburg in 2018 (4:45), and Adrian Ben (4:03).
France, runners-up in the previous three championships, had Romain Mornet on the opening leg (3:56) and Charlotte Mouchette on leg two (4:42), followed by Azeddine Habz (4:04) and Bourgoin (4.45).
European 3000m steeplechase champion Topi Raitanen returned a 4:14 split on the penultimate leg for the 12th-placed Finnish team.
Full results <a href="https://piemonte22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Simon Turnbull for European Athletics
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Report | Sabbatini’s last leg heroics clinches mixed relay gold for Italy

The 28th edition of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Piemonte-La Mandria Park will be streamed live in its entirety on Sunday (11) through the All-Athletics platform <a href="https://allathletics.tv/championships/ea-cross-country-piemonte-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here </a>(geo-blocking restrictions might apply).
The stream begins at 9.15am local time (CET, 8.15am GMT) and will be accompanied by expert English-language commentary from two-time world cross country silver medallist Tim Hutchings and 2011 world 1500m silver medallist Hannah England.
Live results will also be available through the European Athletics website <a href="https://piemonte22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> (registration required).
Useful links
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/rising-nordic-talents-to-clash-in-the-u20-races-in-la-mandria-park" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U20 previews</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/home-favourite-battocletti-to-target-fourth-successive-title-in-la-mandria-park" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U23 previews</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/preview-can-anyone-dethrone-ingebrigtsen-in-the-shadow-of-la-mandria-castle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senior men&rsquo;s preview</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/preview-reigning-champion-grovdal-renews-rivalry-with-can-and-klosterhalfen-in-la-mandria-park-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senior women&rsquo;s preview</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/preview-home-favourites-to-challenge-the-brits-for-mixed-relay-gold-in-la-mandria-park" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mixed relay preview</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.european-athletics.com/news/2022-spar-european-cross-country-championships-press-conference-highlights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Press conference highlights</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/6d610d9c-b6ea-4ed9-b57a-ba712182ac5f/EXCCH-2022-MASTER_w_COVERS_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Statistics handbook</a></li>
</ul>
Biographies
<ul>
<li><a href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/1b7b4ad7-a2a7-4738-8b22-2fc79ebf7969/Under-20%20Women's%20Race%20-%20Biographical%20Entry%20List.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Women</a></li>
<li><a href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/781dd0c6-0798-45c0-b11e-45846a64a09e/Under-20%20Men's%20Race%20-%20Biographical%20Entry%20List.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Men</a></li>
<li><a href="https://downloads.european-athletics.com/c16b285e-1194-48a3-a9a3-43732f7630bd/Mixed%20Relay%20(Men)%20-%20Biographical%20Entry%20List.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mixed relay</a></li>
</ul>
There will also be extensive coverage on the European Athletics website and across our social media channels.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanAthletics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/europeanathletics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@europeanathletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@EuropeanAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube</a></li>
</ul>

How to follow the 2022 SPAR European Cross Country Championships

Ahead of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Piemonte-La Mandria Park, four of the prospective medal contenders spoke to the press at the spectacular La Venaria Reale, the former Royal Residence and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/2ae3f2fa-8762-48e8-98b9-7f88d32c1454?width=3000&amp;height=2000" alt="221210 131039 Fg 4139 Francesca Grana" />
Charles Hicks will be looking to defend his title in the U23 race in La Mandria Park on Sunday where he will renew his rivalry with Ireland&rsquo;s Darragh McElhinney, the silver medallist behind Hicks twelve months ago.
And if he does succeed tomorrow, this will be his second significant cross country win in the space of three weeks after winning the NCAA cross country title last month, becoming the first European winner of that race since 2000.
On winning the NCAA Cross Country Championships&hellip;
&ldquo;That was an unbelievable race - the race of my life at this point in my career. The focus was making sure I got as much rest and recovery as possible over the past three weeks. Returning to my training base in California was helpful but mostly I&rsquo;ve been trying to relax, focusing on the little things and keeping the season rolling.&rdquo;
On the challenging nature of the course in La Mandria Park&hellip;
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s the same as any other factor, especially in cross country - everyone out there is on the same course. I try not to worry about any particular thing out there because I know every one of us is going to have to run it.&rdquo;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/964f9f53-c8de-4448-af62-941e3aab9c4c?width=3000&amp;height=2000" alt="Getty Images 1245506399" />
On comparing the courses on the US collegiate circuit to European cross country courses&hellip;
&ldquo;If you look at my shoes and tights, I&rsquo;ve brought some of the course with me! It&rsquo;s very different but the heart of cross country remains the same - you&rsquo;re going out to compete for yourself and especially your team.
&ldquo;In terms of how the race plays out, it&rsquo;s going to be measuring your effort as best you can. Whether that course will take more of that effort than an easier American course, that remains to be seen. But I think I have to stick to my guns and keep doing what&rsquo;s working for me.&rdquo;
On whether he considered competing in the senior race&hellip;
&ldquo;I did consider doing the senior race but I think it&rsquo;s something I have to do for the right time and I think I&rsquo;m still testing the waters of what I&rsquo;m capable of. I thought the U23 race made sense to me. I really wanted to get that team win and we came up a little bit short so we are really going to be focusing on that and bringing back as many gold medals to GB. My best chance of doing that is in the U23 race."
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/990dbd2a-3543-4697-b15a-aa48f03b078a?width=3000&amp;height=2000" alt="Getty Images 1245506603" />
Konstanze Klosterhalfen has amassed an excellent record at the European Cross Country Championships which included gold in the U20 when Italy last staged the championships in 2016 in Chia on the island of Sardinia.
Klosterhalfen will be looking to add further lustre to a season which has included a 5000m gold at the European Athletics Championships in Munich and a brilliant 65:41 half marathon debut in Valencia.
On comparing the conditions tomorrow to the conditions when she won the U20 race in 2016...
&ldquo;It will be tough tomorrow, it will be different from last time in Italy - it&rsquo;s pretty cold and the course is pretty tough and hilly. It&rsquo;s probably not the best course for me but I always enjoy the challenge and I will give my best and I&rsquo;m excited to be back in Italy.&rdquo;
On Germany&rsquo;s chances of winning the team title&hellip;
&ldquo;Yeah, we came here with a really strong team and we are all excited to go out there as a team. We are excited to see how we can take the challenge.
On the prospect of the 50 metre-long indoor section in La Mandria Castle&hellip;
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely unique. There will be some really beautiful pictures inside. I&rsquo;m curious to see how the race will take place inside because it&rsquo;s very narrow and after the muddy section before, it&rsquo;s nice to have some firm ground but it will be interesting to see how it will go.&rdquo;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/ee6628ed-5d2f-4913-b4a6-70d0e25a608c?width=3000&amp;height=2000" alt="Getty Images 1245506663" />
Yemaneberhan Crippa represents Italy&rsquo;s best chance of winning a medal in the senior races at the European Cross Country Championships.&nbsp;
Already a veteran of the championships at the age of 26, this will be Crippa&rsquo;s tenth appearance at the European Cross Country Championships and he has accrued the same number of medals, including two U20 golds and senior silver in 2019.
On competing at home after winning the 10,000m title in Munich...
&ldquo;I have a chance to take a second medal this year. This is a new chance to take a medal at cross country. Last year, it was not good [he dropped out while in medal contention due to a stitch] but I have a new chance in Italy.
On the challenging nature of the course&hellip;
The course is very, very tough but cross country is like this; I am happy and I am ready for tomorrow.&nbsp;
On preparing for the championships at altitude in Iten in Kenya&hellip;
&ldquo;In Kenya, the terrain in Kenya is like this course and I am ready. I spent 35 days there at altitude and I am happy to take a prize.
On challenging reigning champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen for the title...
&ldquo;Jakob is running at a very high level. Tomorrow, I will try and beat him. It won&rsquo;t be easy but I will try!&rdquo;
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/1737d51c-be1e-4e12-9037-194ae8ce6bcf?width=3000&amp;height=2000" alt="Getty Images 1245506214" />
Nadia Battocletti has been one of the most successful athletes in recent editions of the European Cross Country Championships. Having already won two U20 titles, Battocletti stepped up to win the U23 title in Dublin last year and she will be aiming to defend that title on Sunday.&nbsp;
On how she has stayed so consistent over the years&hellip;
&ldquo;Probably because every morning when I wake up, I start thinking I have to - this is my motivation.
On the challenges leading up to the championships:
&ldquo;The last few months were very tough because I had mononucleosis the week before the European Championships and then I&rsquo;ve had many infections. Indeed I finished my last cycle of antibiotics around 10 days ago. But I want to be here and I never give up.&rdquo;
On the prospect of her first European Cross Country Championships at home&hellip;
&ldquo;Running at home is very important. I&rsquo;m very excited and I will wake up and think &lsquo;OK, I&rsquo;m at home and I will have to run fast.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Steven Mills for European Athletics

2022 SPAR European Cross Country Championships press conference highlights

The historic La Mandria Castle will provide a suitably regal backdrop as Jakob Ingebrigtsen bids to add another jewel to his crown as the latter day king of European middle and long distance running in defending the senior men&rsquo;s title at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships on Sunday (11).
The SPAR European Cross Country Championships will be streamed live through the All-Athletics platform and accompanied by expert English-language commentary. Click&nbsp;<a href="https://allathletics.tv/championships/ea-cross-country-piemonte-2022/">here</a>&nbsp;for the live stream and where else to watch.
Just four months after taking his tally of senior continental gold medals to a magnificent eight with his second successive 1500/5000m double, the young Norwegian faces a phalanx of fellow medal winners from the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships as he endeavours to claim a ninth in the picturesque surroundings of La Mandria Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the outskirts of Turin.
The field for the 10km, which will feature a unique 50 metre-long indoor section through the carriage pavilion of La Mandria Castle on each of the six long laps, includes the 1-2-3 from the 5000m - Ingebrigtsen, Mohamed Katir of Spain and Italy&rsquo;s Yemaneberhan Crippa - the 1-3 from the 10,000m - Crippa again and Yann Schrub from France - and 3000m steeplechase bronze medallist Osama Zoghlami from Italy.
Also on the entry-list is the man Ingebrigtsen deposed as champion in Fingal-Dublin last year, Türkiye&rsquo;s Aras Kaya.
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Kaya triumphed in 2016 and 2019 - the latter albeit retroactively after initial winner Robel Fsiha was disqualified - but no one has won the senior men&rsquo;s race in consecutive years since the great Serhiy Lebid in 2007-08.&nbsp;
The Ukrainian also won five successive titles from 2001 to 2005, and also triumphed in 1998 and 2010. The only other successful defence has been achieved by Portugal&rsquo;s Paulo Guerra, who won the opening two editions in Alnwick in 1994 and 1995, and who prevailed again in 1999 and 2000.
So Ingebrigtsen, at just 22, stands to become only the third senior men&rsquo;s back-to-back winner as he chases what would be a stunning sixth successive individual title at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships, having claimed four U20 titles between 2016 and 2019.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/0ded036e-74cf-4dac-a068-e59c61cb34a7?width=3913&amp;height=2609" alt="Getty Images 1070364046" />
Ingebrigtsen will also be on a patriotic - not to mention familial - mission in northern Italy. Norway finished third in the team race last year but the Nordic nation is yet to win the title. With only three runners to count, Ingebrigtsen will be joined by older brothers Filip and Henrik, both of whom have tasted individual success at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships. Filip won the senior title in 2018; Henrik was the U23 champion back in 2012.
Not that a second senior individual title for Jakob can be taken for granted.
<h2>Who are Jakob&rsquo;s main rivals in La Mandria Park?</h2>
The distance, the course which includes a steep 300 metre uphill and downhill section on each long lap, and the location might be better suited to Crippa, who lives in Trento in northern Italy and has an early background in mountain running.
The 26-year-old, who was born in Ethiopia and adopted by an Italian couple after losing both of his parents, was runner-up to Kaya in the 2019 in Lisbon. He also won the U20 title in 2014 and 2015 and finished third in the U23 race in 2016 and 2017.
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Crippa&rsquo;s running tally of five individual medals - he has 10 in total if we include team medals - makes him the joint second highest individual medal winner on the men&rsquo;s side in the history of the championships, together with Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Hassan Chahdi from France. Lebid stands clear out in front with 12.
Crippa looks likely to pose the biggest threat to Ingebrigtsen on Sunday. He has been preparing at high altitude in Iten in Kenya, with a tilt at a home victory and also a spring marathon debut in mind.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a nice thing to be racing at home in Turin,&rdquo; Crippa told 2011 world 1500m silver medallist Hannah England on a European Athletics preview podcast. &ldquo;We will have many people to cheer us.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Listen to the podcast with Crippa in full <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/3kjY0NQVQloh4eAfOScvdc?go=1&amp;sp_cid=b95ebf454e43adaeeec8037f2d659f7b&amp;utm_source=embed_player_p&amp;utm_medium=desktop&amp;nd=1">here</a>.</li>
</ul>
"I want to give all the Italians the gold medal, like in Munich. I know there will be strong guys like Jakob Ingebrigtsen but I can try," he added.
Crippa will also have his sights on the team prize, a title the Italians have only won once when the event was held on Italian soil for the first time in 1998. He is joined in a strong home squad by his older brother Nekagenet although Italian cross country champion Iliass Aouani, who finished third and first respectively in the recent test event, has been forced to withdraw due to a positive coronavirus test.
However, the team also includes the aforementioned Osama Zoghlami - whom Crippa has been training with in Kenya ahead of the championships - and Yohanes Chiappinelli, who finished runner-up to a then 16-year-old Ingebrigtsen in the U20 race when the championships were last held in Italy, in Chia in 2016.
Second behind Ingebrigtsen last year was Kaya who has been struggling for form since finishing third in the European 10,000m Cup in May. Kaya was only 16th and half-a-lap behind Crippa et al in the 10,000m at the European Athletics Championships but the Kenyan-born Turkish runner often comes to life at this end-of-year fixture.
By contrast, Katir has a proven record on the track as his medals from the European Athletics Championships and World Athletics Championships can attest to. However, Katir doesn&rsquo;t have too much in the way of demonstrable cross country form yet.
The Spaniard will be making his debut at the European Cross Country Championships after sealing his place on the team with a solid sixth place finish in Seville last month. And the Spaniards will be strong contenders for the team title with Nassim Hassous, Carlos Mayo and Abdessamad Oukhelfen - who finished seventh, 11th and 12th respectively last year - all part of the squad.
<img src="https://assets.european-athletics.com/10673808-e3b7-4c38-b0fc-5b530595eca2?width=4000&amp;height=2668" alt="Getty Images 1415244363" />
Serbia&rsquo;s Elzan Bibic, the bronze medallist behind the victorious Ingebrigtsen in the U20 race in 2018, will be making his debut in the senior race. The 23-year-old was a recent winner of the Warandecross in Tilburg, the same city where Bibic won bronze behind Ingebrigtsen before graduating to silver in the U23 race behind Jimmy Gressier in 2019.
Having amassed 10 medals since 2015, Gressier is a notable absentee from this year&rsquo;s championships. But the French team will be ably represented by not only European 10,000m bronze medallist and last year&rsquo;s sixth-placer Yann Schrub but also Morhad Amdouni, the 2018 European 10,000m champion who has since made a successful transition to the marathon.
Other returning top-10 finishers from 2021 are Belgians Michael Somers and Isaac Kimeli who were fifth and ninth respectively in Dublin and tenth-placer Brian Fay from Ireland who comes fresh from setting a national indoor 5000m record of 13:16.77.
Andreas Vojta of Austria will be making his 13th appearance in the championships, putting him third on the all-time list behind Lebid (19) and Italy&rsquo;s Gabriele de Nard (17).
Simon Turnbull for European Athletics

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Senior men's race replay | Piemonte 2022

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SPAR European Cross Country Championships | Overview

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SPAR has been the principal sponsor of European Athletics since 1996, becoming synonymous with the sport during this period. Athletics is a sport where personal endeavour is combined with team participation to achieve success, and SPAR identifies with this principle through its national partners by ensuring that consumers enjoy shopping at SPAR. SPAR retailers continue to develop the brand through sponsorship awareness and through the critical link with individual athletes who are also customers of independent retailers. SPAR is proud to be involved with European Athletics, an organisation which strives to bring passion and enthusiasm for their sport to viewers, spectators and participants.

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Eurohold

Le Gruyère AOP Switzerland began its partnership with European Athletics in 2008 as a top-tier sponsor of all Major Events and the European Athletics U23 and U20  Championships. Le Gruyère is a very high quality natural cheese that has been produced for many centuries in an artisanal method without any additives. VIP guests, athletes and fans have the opportunity to taste this magnificent cheese at European Athletics events sponsored by Le Gruyère AOP Switzerland.

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Würth MODYF Group currently operates companies in seven countries and has more than 400 employees in Germany, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Smaller sales units support Würth MODYF’s customers in Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium. Würth MODYF Group is continuing to expand internationally, opening new branches all over Europe.

SPAR European Cross Country Championships

LATEST

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How to follow the 2022 SPAR European Cross Country Championships

2022 SPAR European Cross Country Championships press conference highlights

Preview | Can anyone dethrone Ingebrigtsen in the shadow of La Mandria Castle?

SPAR European Cross Country Championships

Videos

Senior men's race replay | Piemonte 2022

Senior women's race replay | Piemonte 2022

Mixed relay replay | Piemonte 2022

Women's U23 race replay | Piemonte 2022

SPAR European Cross Country Championships