Battocletti and Bekele to Star at the 68th Campaccio Cross Country Meet

Nadia Battocletti and Telahun Haile Bekele are set to headline the 68th edition of the Campaccio Cross Country event in San Giorgio su Legnano, marking the 14th leg of the prestigious World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold on Monday, January 6. Battocletti enters the race on the heels of a triumphant season, highlighted by her European Cross Country Championship win in Antalya, where she outpaced Konstanze Klosterhalfen. Meanwhile, Bekele returns to Italian soil aiming for another victory following his record-setting performance at the Boclassic in Bolzano.

• Campaccio Cross Country Live Stream and Event Details

Women's Race Preview:

Battocletti capped a remarkably successful season by clinching the European Cross Country title in Antalya, outpacing Konstanze Klosterhalfen. The Italian became the first female athlete—and only the second overall after her compatriot, Andrea Lalli—to secure European gold medals across all age categories. Her achievements include two under-20 golds in Tilburg 2018 and Lisbon 2019, two under-23 golds in Dublin 2021 and Venaria Reale 2023, and a senior-level silver in Brussels 2023. Additionally, Battocletti triumphed in the Bloclassic 5 km road race in Bolzano with a time of 15:31.

Last summer, Battocletti achieved a European double in the 5000m and 10000m at the European Championships in Rome, setting Italian records with times of 14:35.29 and 30:51.32, respectively. She secured an Olympic silver in the 10000m, a mere 0.10 seconds behind Beatrice Chebet, and placed fourth in the 5000m, setting national records of 30:43.35 and 14:31.64.

Battocletti has been competing at Campaccio since her youth. She finished second in 2024, fourth in 2023, and consistently placed in the top six in 2019, 2020, and 2022. In this year's World Cross Country Tour, she finished third at Cinque Mulini and emerged victorious in Alcobendas. She aims to become the first Italian to win at Campaccio since Silvia Sommaggio in 1994.

“I am pleased with my results. Campaccio marks the beginning of the new season after a highly successful year. I have always competed here since my youth, facing world and Olympic medalists in San Giorgio su Legnano. Campaccio is a family tradition for me, as my father Giuliano also competed many times in this race,” said Nadia Battocletti.

The field includes prominent Italian athletes like Elisa Palmero, who placed 11th at the 2023 Campaccio and sixth at the Boclassic in Bolzano 2024. Also competing are Rebecca Lonedo, who finished fifth last year and improved her half marathon personal best to 1:10:13 in Seville, and Michela Cesarò, who took sixth place last year.

International competitors include Burundi’s Micheline Niyomahoro and Finnish cross-country specialist Susanne Saapunki.

Men’s Race Preview:

Telahun Haile Bekele targets another victory on Italian soil following his record-breaking performance at the Boclassic in Bolzano, where he set a course record of 27:59. Since his breakthrough in 2019, Bekele has consistently improved, setting personal bests of 7:25.48 in the 3000m and 12:42.70 in the 5000m.

Oscar Chelimo from Uganda returns for his fourth Campaccio, having secured the world bronze in the 5000m in Eugene 2022. He will face strong competition from Kenya’s Matthew Kipkoech Kipruto, who recently won the Cinque Mulini and set personal bests of 27:50 in the 10 km and 13:18.45 in the 5000m.

Mohamed Jhinaoui from Tunisia, Egide Ntakaturimana from Burundi, and South Africa’s Maxime Chaumeton are also names to watch, each bringing impressive personal bests and strong performances from previous years.

Belgium's national 10000m champion Guillaume Grimard returns, alongside top Italian contender Iliass Aouani, who recently matched the second-fastest Italian marathon time.

Other Italian competitors include Pasquale Selvarolo, fresh off a victory at the Turin Marathon, Italo Quazzola, a previous European team medalist, and Luca Alfieri, a national champion in cross country and the 5000m.

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