A strong Great Britain and Northern Ireland team will head to Antalya in Türkiye next month for the 2024 European Cross Country Championships which take place on Sunday 8 December.
Senior trials winners Kate Axford (Andy Henderson, Belgrave) and Tomer Tarragano (Dean Miller, Brighton & Hove) lead the entries for the GB & NI team, who have a decorated history at the end of year Championships.
Reigning European champions Innes FitzGerald (Gavin Pavey, Exeter) and Will Barnicoat (Tim Eglen, Aldershot Farnham and District) will seek to defend their U20 women and U23 men titles respectively after booking their places in the squad after fine displays at the trial last Saturday.
Axford heads up a stacked senior women’s squad and she will be joined by current European bronze medallist Abbie Donnelly (Rob Lewis, Lincoln Wellington) as the squad seeks to retain the team gold medal they won at the 2023 edition in Brussels.
Tarragano leads the way in the senior men’s sextet after his breakthrough display over the muddy terrain on Merseyside. Fourth placer at last year’s Europeans, Hugo Milner (Derby), and a previous individual U23 medallist Zakariya Mahamed (Idris Hamud, Southampton) add further firepower to the squad.
FitzGerald and Barnicoat are two standouts in the age group teams heading to Turkiye. Alongside individual gold, the pair also both won team gold in the U20 women and U23 men’s events last year, and team medals will be the target for all the squad’s representing GB & NI next month.
Team Leader, Sarah Benson, said,
“The trial in Liverpool showcased the strength and depth of cross country running in the UK, and we are delighted to have selected a team full of experienced athletes, and a number of talented individuals who have reached a Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the first time.
“The Championships are incredibly prestigious, and we have a great history in the event. It is important to recognise the significance of the event in the pathway for our endurance athletes in the UK, so I look forward to seeing the athletes step up and achieve their goals at the Championships next month.”
The Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the 2024 European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkiye on Sunday 8 December:
Senior Women
Kate Axford (Andy Henderson, Belgrave)
Abbie Donnelly (Rob Lewis, Lincoln Wellington)
Izzy Fry (Sonia McGeorge, Newbury)
Jess Gibbon (Reading)
Cari Hughes (Andrew Walling, Cardiff)
Poppy Tank (Luke Gunn, City of Plymouth)
Senior Men
Scott Beattie (Andrew Hobdell, Morpeth)
Ellis Cross (Andrew Hobdell, Aldershot Farnham & District)
Rory Leonard (Andrew Hobdell, Morpeth)
Zak Mahamed (Idris Hamud, Southampton)
Hugo Milner (Derby)
Tomer Tarragano (Dean Miller, Brighton & Hove)
Senior Mixed Relay
Tyler Bilyard (Jethro McGraw, Great Yarmouth)
Maddie Deadman (Rod Finch, Basingstoke and Mid Hants)
Joshua Lay (Matt Yates, Rugby and Northampton)
Elise Thorner (Helen Clitheroe, Wells City)
U23 Women
Phoebe Anderson (Wayne Vinton, Herne Hill)
Poppy Craig-McFeely (Philip O’Dell, Herne Hill)
Meg Gadsby (Mick Woods, City of Norwich)
Mia Waldmann (Mark Booth, Reading)
Kate Willis (Dean Miller, City of Norwich)
Tia Wilson (Bill Foster, Bedford & County)
U23 Men
Will Barnicoat (Tim Eglen, Aldershot, Farnham & District)
Dafydd Jones (James Thie, Swansea)
James Kingston (Mark Hookway, Tonbridge)
David Stone (Dean Miller, Shaftesbury Barnet)
Peter Molloy (Scottish Schs)
Brett Rushman (Andrew Hobdell, Herts Phoenix)
U20 Women
Jessica Bailey (Dean Miller, Leven Valley)
Innes Fitzgerald (Gavin Pavey, Exeter)
Zoe Gilbody (Sarah Benson, Telford)
Isobelle Jones (Wolverhampton and Bilston)
Eleanor Strevens (Christopher Voice, Eastbourne)
Lizzie Wellsted (Andy Henderson, Colchester)
U20 Men
Oliver Conway (Radley)
George Couttie (Ben Thomas, Harrogate)
Henry Dover (David SmShaftesbury Barnet)
Quinn Miell-Ingram (Wendy Miell-Ingram, Radley)
William Rabjohns (Mark Pauley, Poole)
Miles Waterworth (Bruce Warren, Brighton Phoenix
Team Staff
Team Leader: Sarah Benson
Team Coaches: Andrew Henderson (Senior Mixed Relay), Eamonn Martin (Senior Men), Jackie Newton (U20 Women), Mick Woods (U23 Men), Mark Vile (U20 Men) Hayley Yelling (U23 Women), Liz Yelling (Senior Women)
Team Operations and Medical: Stuart Butler, Fiona Henry, Emma Lunan, Cerys Miller.
Team Media: Milly McEvoy
