by Stuart Weir
The SPAR European Athletics Cross-Country Championships was held in Lagao, Portugal on December 14, 2025. The 2025 EA XC Championships set a record for a number of participants and number of teams competing at the championships. This is the thirty-first European Athletics Cross-Country Championships that has been held. While some of the results were not surprises, some of the races were totally surprises. The broadcast, hosted by Hannah England and Tim Hutchings, was streamed all around the world! This viewer enjoyed EA XC 2025 from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and enjoyed the seven races, starting at 3 AM Central US time (9 AM CET).
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European Cross Country Championships in Portugal
There were six medals for team GB at the European Cross Country Championships in Portugal. Innes FitzGerald won the U20 for a third consecutive year in a time of 14:35. She commented afterwards: “I wanted to process it as the laps went on, because I knew that a bit of a hilly course was going to make it a bit tough, and especially being quite soft under the feet. But the start was faster than I thought it was going to be. I worked my way up to the front and then just laid it on, tried to progress it from there. This medal is incredible. It is so nice to come back every year. The atmosphere at this event is amazing and that is what I love about the cross country. There is that team element as well, so there is always girls behind you supporting you, and that is what brings me back every year”. With 16-year-old Beth Lewis finishing in 12th place, Isabel Holt 20th and Eliza Nicholson 37th, it was enough confirm U20 team gold for team GB as well.
It was no surprise that Nadia Battocletti won the senior race in 24:52. A great run by Megan Keith saw her finish just 15 seconds behind. It was an eventful race for Keith as she describes: “The race was a very big mental test for me because the strategy we (British team) were following was to be aggressive but patient. After ten seconds I felt flat on my face, I got off on last place so I was trying to be patient but it was hard, I did not want to be on the back, but during the whole time I was trying to measure my effort, and it paid off because I could have easily tried too hard. Also, I was able to control my thought and the nerves during the race”. With Pheobe Anderson 16th, Verity Ockenden 21st and Poppy Tank 22nd, GB took team silver.
GB also took bronze in the mixed relay with Ava Lloyd, Jack Higgins, Holly Dixon and Callum Elson. In the men’s U20 race, the Novuna GB & NI team won a silver medal by a single point with the team of Alex Lennon. Will Rabjohns. Michael Clark and Quinn Miell-Ingram.
