European Cross Country Championships Lagoa 2025 Preview

On Sunday 14 December 2025, Lagoa hosts a stacked edition of the European Cross Country Championships. Four of the six individual medallists from Antalya 2024 are back on the start lists, including reigning senior champion Nadia Battocletti. Portugal welcomes the event for the fourth time, with 644 athletes from 36 Member Federations entered.

• Women's Senior Race Preview
• Women's U20 Race Preview
• Men's U20 Race Preview
• Women's U23 Race Preview
• Men's U23 Race Preview
• Mixed Relay Preview
• View Results

Men’s senior race

There will be a new name on the men’s senior throne. Defending champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen is skipping Lagoa, which blows the race wide open.

Jimmy Gressier returns to the European Cross Country Championships for the first time since Dublin 2021, where he took individual bronze behind Ingebrigtsen and team gold for France. His age-group record is legendary: three individual and three team under 23 titles (Samorin 2017, Tilburg 2018, Lisbon 2019) and two under 20 team golds in 2015 and 2016.

Gressier comes in with a season that is nothing short of outrageous. He won gold in the 10,000 metres and bronze in the 5000 metres at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025, took the Diamond League 3000 metres title in Zurich, and claimed half marathon gold at the European Running Championships in Leuven in April. He has broken the European records in the indoor 5000 metres with 12:54.92 in Boston and the road 5 km with 12:57 in Lille, and he improved the French outdoor 5000 metres record to 12:51.59 at the Paris Diamond League.

His form looks sharp. Last Saturday he won the Course de l’Escalade in Geneva, beating Swiss star Dominic Lobalu, who will also be on the start line in Lagoa. Gressier is already eyeing another big date: the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee on 10 January.

Dominic Lobalu arrives as European 10,000 metres champion after his gold in Rome 2024 and with a Swiss 5000 metres record of 12:50.87 from Oslo.

The French team behind Gressier is deep. It includes Fabien Palcau and Simon Bedard, the second and third French finishers at the Cross Country Tour Gold race in Allonnes, where they ran behind 2023 European champion Yann Schrub. Schrub will skip these championships to focus on Tallahassee. Bedard also owns mixed relay silver from Antalya 2024 and 5000 metres gold from the World University Games in 2023.

Spain counters with a strong squad led by Thierry Ndikumwenayo, bronze medallist in the senior race in Antalya 2024. Ndikumwenayo holds Spanish records of 7:25.93 for 3000 metres from Monaco 2022 and 26:49.49 for 10,000 metres from the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. This autumn he has raced consistently in the Spanish cross series, finishing third in Atapuerca, fourth in Soria and fifth in Alcobendas.

He is joined by Ilias Fifa, 5000 metres European champion in Amsterdam 2016 and national 10 km record holder with 27:41 from Valencia, and Daniel Arce, European bronze medallist in the 3000 metres steeplechase in Munich 2022 and tenth at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Italy’s hopes rest mainly on Yohannes Chiappinelli. The versatile Italian set the national marathon record of 2:05:54 in Valencia last year and finished sixth over the distance at the World Championships in Tokyo. On the country he is a proven performer, with under 20 silver behind Ingebrigtsen in 2016 and eighth place at the 2022 European Cross Country Championships.

Home fans will look to José Carlos Pinto. He won the Portuguese cross country title at the test event on this very Lagoa course last November and knows every turn of the loop.

Ruben Querinjean from Luxembourg has quietly built a serious medal case. In 2024 he won his first Diamond League race in the 3000 metres steeplechase in Brussels with a national record of 8:09.47 and then took World University Games gold in Bochum before finishing tenth at the World Championships in Tokyo. His breakthrough on the grass came with under 23 bronze in Dublin 2021. This autumn he underlined his form by winning the Belgian Cross Country Championships ahead of Isaac Kimeli.

Belgium lines up a dangerous trio: John Heymans and Guillaume Grimard, who collected European team gold in Brussels 2023, and Ruben Verheyden, national 1500 metres record holder with 3:30.99.

Women’s senior race

The women’s senior race is absolutely loaded. Five of last year’s top six from Antalya return, headed by defending champion Nadia Battocletti.

Battocletti made history in 2024 by completing the full European cross country set. She became the first woman, and only the second athlete after Andrea Lalli, to win individual titles in all three age groups: under 20 gold in Tilburg 2018 and Lisbon 2019, under 23 gold in Dublin 2021 and Venaria Reale 2022, and senior gold in Antalya 2024. She also led Italy to their first ever senior women’s team title.

Her 2025 form suggests she is ready to defend. She opened her cross season with a win at the Cross Country Tour Gold race in Atapuerca and then finished second in Alcobendas.

On the track she has been one of the stars of the last two summers. The 25-year-old took 10,000 metres silver behind Beatrice Chebet and 5000 metres bronze at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025, and she won Olympic silver in the 10,000 metres in Paris 2024. At European level she completed a golden double in Rome 2024 over 5000 and 10,000 metres, and in 2025 she added the European 10 km road title in Leuven.

Nadia Battocletti: “Cross country will always have a special place in my heart. My first big international victory came in the U20 race in 2018 and becoming the first woman to complete the set of titles in Antalya last year was an achievement I am very proud of.”

Italy backs her up with a solid squad that includes Valentina Gemetto, Elisa Palmero and Nicole Reina. Gemetto has been a regular at the front of the continental circuit this autumn, finishing third in Soria and fourth at the historic Cinque Mulini in San Vittore Olona. Palmero placed sixth in the 10,000 metres at the European Championships in Rome 2024.

Battocletti will face familiar rivals. Diane Van Es of the Netherlands and Megan Keith of Great Britain, silver and bronze behind her in the 10,000 metres at Rome 2024, are both in the field.

Van Es arrives in good shape after finishing second at Course de l’Escalade in Geneva on 7 December and running 14:39 for 5 km in Monaco.

Keith leads a very strong British team. She has already won European cross country titles in the under 20 race in 2021 and under 23 race in 2023, and she also took European under 23 5000 metres gold in Espoo 2023. Her 83-second winning margin in Brussels 2023 is the largest in any race in championship history. This autumn she showed strong form with fourth place at the Atapuerca Cross Country Tour Gold race.

Backing Keith are Abbie Donnelly, senior bronze medallist in Brussels 2023, Phoebe Anderson, under 23 champion in Antalya 2024 now making her senior debut, and British trials winner Cari Hughes.

Turkey’s Yasemin Can returns to a championship she once dominated. She won four straight European cross country titles in Chia 2016, Samorin 2017, Tilburg 2018 and Lisbon 2019. On the track she has collected three European titles over 5000 metres and 10,000 metres in Amsterdam 2016 and 10,000 metres again in Munich 2022. Her current form looks strong after a 30:36 10 km road race in Brasov, the second fastest time by a European in 2025.

Portugal’s Mariana Machado will chase her first senior medal after finishing fifth in Antalya 2024. In 2025 she came fourth in the 10 km at the European Running Championships in Leuven and won her fifth consecutive national cross country title in Lagoa. The daughter of 1996 Olympic marathon runner Albertina Machado, she already owns two European cross country bronze medals from Lisbon 2019 (under 20) and Dublin 2021 (under 23), plus 5000 metres gold at the World University Games in Chengdu 2021.

Spain fields a strong team led by marathon specialist Majida Maayouf, national record holder with 2:21:01 from Valencia 2022 and European silver medallist over the marathon in Munich 2022.

Belgium aims for a third straight team medal after bronzes in Brussels 2023 and Antalya 2024. Their team is led by Jana Van Lent, fourth last year and winner of the 10,000 metres European Cup in Pacé, and Lisa Rooms, who defeated Van Lent at this year’s Belgian Cross Country Championships. Van Lent also became the first Belgian woman under 15 minutes for 5000 metres, lowering the national record to 14:37.47. Chloe Herbiet adds even more strength just a week after finishing third at the Valencia Marathon in a Belgian record of 2:20:38.

Germany’s squad is anchored by Eva Dieterich, silver medallist in the 10 km at the European Running Championships, and national cross country champion Elena Burkard.

France will chase a first women’s team medal since 2015 with Agathe Guillemot, European indoor 1500 metres champion in Apeldoorn 2025 and national record holder, and Alessia Zarbo, French record holder over 10 km with 31:00 and in the half marathon with 68:20.

Another name to circle is Sweden’s Sarah Lahti, Warandeloop winner in Tilburg and national 10 km record holder with 30:58.

Men’s under 23 race

Six of the top nine from last year’s under 23 race in Antalya are back, which sets up a fierce rematch.

Britain’s Will Barnicoat is hunting a third straight under 23 title after wins in Brussels 2023 and Antalya 2024. He also owns under 20 gold from Venaria Reale 2022 and two European under 23 bronze medals in the 5000 metres from Espoo 2023 and Bergen 2025.

Barnicoat will face three reigning European under 23 champions from the track in Bergen 2025: Stefan Nillesen of the Netherlands (1500 metres), Joel Ibler Lilleso of Denmark (10,000 metres) and Maciej Megier of Poland (3000 metres steeplechase).

Nillesen has built up a strong major championship résumé, with three European under 23 medals: 1500 metres gold in Espoo 2023 and Bergen 2025 and steeplechase silver in Bergen. He briefly held the Dutch 1500 metres record with 3:29.23 in Paris before Niels Laros lowered it to 3:29.20. On the mud he was third in the 10 km Warandeloop Cross in Tilburg last November.

Megier leads the Polish under 23 team. Nineteenth in the under 23 race in Antalya 2024, he made a huge leap last summer by winning European under 23 steeplechase gold in a championship record of 8:20.17, beating Nillesen. He then dominated the national under 23 cross country championships, winning by more than 20 seconds.

Lilleso has collected major medals for years. He won European under 20 5000 metres gold in Tallinn 2021 and under 23 10,000 metres gold in Bergen 2025. At the European Cross Country Championships he took under 20 bronze in Dublin 2021 and finished seventh in the under 23 race in Antalya, where he led Denmark to team bronze.

Ireland’s Nick Griggs will look to extend his remarkable record of consistency. He has three individual European cross country medals already: under 20 silver in 2022, under 20 bronze in 2023 and under 23 silver in Antalya 2024, where he pushed Barnicoat all the way. Their rivalry started in Venaria Reale 2022, when Barnicoat outsprinted Griggs for under 20 gold. Griggs is joined by Niall Murphy and Jonas Stafford, who were part of Ireland’s under 20 team champions in Brussels 2023.

Norway’s Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen steps up to the under 23 category for the first time. He became world under 20 3000 metres champion in Lima 2024, the first non-African to win a men’s distance title at those championships, and also took under 20 bronze behind Niels Laros at last year’s European Cross Country Championships in Antalya. This autumn he won the senior race at the Nordic Cross Country Championships in Kastrup.

Sweden’s Jonathan Grahn, 3000 metres European under 20 champion in 2023 after edging Griggs in a tight finish, will make his European Cross debut. On the track in Bergen 2025 he came within four hundredths of beating Lilleso for 10,000 metres gold.

France brings a deep under 23 squad including Pierre Boudy, ninth in the under 20 race in Antalya 2024, Lagtiy Chaoudar, who ran 3:31.58 for 1500 metres last summer, and Ishak Drahmani, sixth in the under 20 race in Antalya.

Men’s under 20 race

The men’s under 20 race is overflowing with fresh European champions. Three Tampere 2025 gold medallists step onto the grass: Hakom Moe Berg of Norway, double champion over 1500 and 3000 metres; Belgian 5000 metres champion Willem Renders; and Turkish 3000 metres steeplechase champion Kiyasettin Kara.

Moe Berg leads a Norwegian team that will try to defend their under 20 team title. Only weeks after his Tampere double he improved his 1500 metres best to 3:30.28 in Pfungstadt, moving to third on the European under 20 all-time list.

He is backed by teammates Magnus Oyen and Kristian Brathen Borve, fourth and tenth respectively in the under 20 race in Antalya 2024 and key scorers in last year’s team victory.

Sweden’s Karl Ottfalk took silver in the 5000 metres and bronze in the 3000 metres at the Tampere 2025 European under 20 Championships. On the grass he finished fourth in Brussels 2023 and fifth in Antalya 2024 in the under 20 race and comes to Lagoa fresh from under 20 gold at this year’s Nordic Cross Country Championships.

Turkey fields a strong squad led by Kara, who will be joined by Ali Tunc, seventh in the 5000 metres at Tampere 2025.

Belgium’s hopes rest on European under 20 5000 metres champion Willem Renders, who also won the national under 20 cross country title this autumn.

Other young men to watch include European under 20 3000 metres silver medallist Kristers Kudlis of Latvia and 2000 metres steeplechase European under 20 champion Adam Cervinka of the Czech Republic.

Women’s under 23 race

Spain’s Maria Forero and Finland’s Ilona Mononen start as two of the main favourites for the podium. They won silver and bronze in the under 23 race in Antalya 2024 and then struck gold on the track in Bergen 2025, Forero in the 5000 metres and Mononen in the 3000 metres steeplechase.

Forero was second behind Phoebe Anderson in Antalya last year. This autumn she finished fifth at the Cross Country Tour Gold race in Seville as the top European finisher and she is already a former European under 20 champion after winning in Venaria Reale 2022. She is joined by Marta Serrano, who took silver behind Mononen in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the European under 23 Championships in Bergen.

Mononen has appeared on the podium at each of the last three editions of the championships: under 20 bronze in Venaria Reale 2022, under 23 silver in Brussels 2023 and under 23 bronze in Antalya 2024. In 2025 she added 3000 metres steeplechase gold at the World University Games in Bochum and won the event at the European Athletics Team Championships in Madrid.

Norway’s leading name is Ingeborg Ostgård, European under 20 1500 metres champion in Tallinn 2021.

Germany’s Pia Schlattmann, fourth in the under 20 race in Antalya last year, has already made her mark in senior races with third place at the German Cross Country Championships in Darmstadt.

Denmark’s Sofia Thogersen brings a huge medal collection at under 18 and under 20 level. She has European medals in the 3000 metres and 1500 metres from Tallinn 2021 and Jerusalem 2023 and won the 3000 metres title at the European under 18 Championships in Jerusalem 2022. On the country she has claimed under 20 silver in Brussels 2023 and bronze in Antalya 2024.

Women’s under 20 race

Innes FitzGerald of Great Britain is chasing an extraordinary hat-trick. She has won the last two European under 20 titles, both individually and with the team, in Brussels 2023 and Antalya 2024, and now goes for a third.

Her track season in 2025 was sensational. She won double gold in the 3000 and 5000 metres at the European under 20 Championships in Tampere, breaking Gabriela Szabo’s 32-year-old championships 3000 metres record with 8:46.39 and winning the 5000 metres in 15:09.04. Earlier in the summer she broke Zola Budd’s 40-year-old European under 20 record in the 5000 metres with 14:39.56 at the London Diamond League. This autumn she won the British trials in Liverpool by 59 seconds over Lizzie Wellsted.

Great Britain will try to extend their incredible record in the women’s under 20 team race, having won 15 of the last 16 titles.

Norway’s Andrea Nygard Vie is another major talent in this race. She is the European under 20 champion in the 3000 metres steeplechase and recently won the under 20 race at the Nordic Cross Country Championships ahead of Venus Abraham Teffera, who will also compete in Lagoa. Norway won the team title at those championships in Kastrup.

The Norwegian team also includes Wilma Anna Bekkemoen Torbjørnsson, who took bronze in the 1500 metres at the European under 18 Championships in Tampere 2024 and bronze again in the 3000 metres at the European under 20 Championships in Tampere. She finished seventh in the under 20 race in Antalya and is one of four top-eight finishers returning this year.

Germany’s Julia Ehrle is chasing a unique triple, aiming for European medals on track, mountain and cross in the same year. She already has 5000 metres bronze from Tampere 2025, gold at the World Mountain Running Championships in Canfranc by more than half a minute, and the German under 20 cross country title from Darmstadt. At the 2024 European Cross Country Championships in Antalya she was just edged for bronze by Thogersen and finished fourth.

Sweden’s Carmen Cernjul won two silver medals in the 1500 and 3000 metres at the European under 20 Championships in Tampere and will make her first appearance at the European Cross Country Championships. Before focusing on athletics she was selected for the Swedish under 18 national football team.

Mixed relay

The mixed relay should be one of the most entertaining events of the day. Defending champions Italy face France and Great Britain, last year’s silver and bronze medallists, along with an ambitious Portuguese quartet racing on home soil.

Italy will chase a third European mixed relay title since 2022. Their team includes 1500 metres national record holder and Olympic finalist Pietro Arese, national mile record holder Marta Zenoni and Sebastiano Parolini, all members of last year’s gold medal winning quartet in Antalya 2024, plus 1500 metres specialist Gaia Sabbatini, who anchored Italy to gold in Venaria Reale 2022. Arese sealed the title last year in a thrilling sprint finish and will be hungry for a repeat.

Portugal is targeting a first ever medal in the mixed relay. The hosts line up a star-studded team featuring 1500 metres world champion and Apeldoorn 2025 bronze medallist Isaac Nader and his partner Salomé Afonso, double European indoor medallist in Apeldoorn with silver in the 1500 metres and bronze in the 3000 metres. They were part of the relay squad that won the national mixed relay title on this Lagoa course two weeks ago. They are joined by Patricia Silva, world indoor 800 metres bronze medallist in Nanjing 2025 and daughter of Olympic 1500 metres bronze medallist Rui Silva, and Nuno Pereira, 2019 European under 20 1500 metres champion who lowered his best to 3:32.16 in 2025.

Portugal has not celebrated a European Cross Country gold since Jessica Augusto’s senior women’s title in 2010. The home crowd will believe this relay can change that.

Spain sends a very strong quartet in search of their first mixed relay title since Tilburg 2018. The team features Mohamed Attaoui, European silver medallist and national record holder with 1:42.04 for 800 metres, Esther Guerrero, a member of Spain’s 2018 gold medal relay and fourth in the 1500 metres at the 2023 European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, world indoor 800 metres champion and European outdoor 800 metres champion from 2022 Mariano Garcia, and Marta Mitjans, Spanish under 20 record holder in the 800 metres with 1:59.88.

France and Great Britain, silver and bronze respectively in 2024, are once again among the favourites. France have medalled in the mixed relay at each of the last six editions, including gold in Brussels 2023. Their team includes Antoine Senard, who was part of that 2023 winning quartet.

Great Britain is the only country with three mixed relay titles and will aim for a fourth. Their squad features Callum Elson and Ava Lloyd, who trains with Olympic 800 metres champion Keely Hodgkinson.

Ireland, still searching for a first medal in this event, brings a dangerous line-up. Cian McPhillips leads the team after a breakthrough fourth place in the 800 metres at the World Championships in Tokyo in a personal best of 1:42.15 and 1500 metres gold at the 2021 European under 20 Championships. He teams up with Andrew Coscoran, 1500 metres world finalist and national record holder with 3:30.42 and 3:49.26 indoors for the mile, European under 23 1500 metres bronze medallist Elmear Maher and national 1500 metres champion Laura Nicholson.

The 2025 European Cross Country Championships will be broadcast live worldwide for free. See more details here.