Battocletti, Kejelcha, Crippa and Bekele to headline Boclassic in Bolzano
Italy’s Nadia Battocletti, Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, Italian star Yeman Crippa, and defending champion Telahun Haile Bekele will headline the 51st edition of the BOclassic, set to take place in Bolzano on December 31.
Women’s 5 km
Battocletti returns to Bolzano aiming for a historic third consecutive victory after winning the past two editions in 15:30 (2023) and 15:31 (2024). The Italian star will also target the course record of 15:22, set by Dawit Swaum in 2021.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a sensational 2024 season, claiming silver in the 10,000 metres with an Italian record of 30:38.23 and bronze in the 5000 metres at the World Championships in Tokyo. She has also amassed six European Cross Country gold medals across under-20, under-23 and senior categories, becoming only the fourth woman in history to successfully defend the senior European cross country title with her victory in Lagoa last December. In May, she added European road gold over 10 km in Leuven.
“I’ve had a very busy period recently—it seems I don’t like doing things the easy way,” said Battocletti. “I’m happy to return to Bolzano. I really enjoy running at the BOclassic.”
The strongest African challenger in the women’s field is Ethiopia’s Ksanet Alem, who owns a personal best of 15:24 and finished eighth over 800 metres at the World U20 Championships in Lima in 2024.
Great Britain’s Cari Hughes arrives in strong form after winning the UK National Cross Country Trials in Liverpool, securing her place on the British team for the European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa. Hughes was third in the 3000m steeplechase at the British Championships this year and boasts personal bests of 15:05.05 for 5000m (Oordegem) and 15:18 for 5 km on the road (Lille).
Italy’s Sara Nestola adds further depth after winning bronze in the half marathon at the European Road Running Championships in Leuven. Nestola was part of Italy’s gold-medal-winning team at the 2021 European Cross Country Championships in Dublin and claimed silver over 10,000m at the 2023 European U23 Championships in Espoo. Her 5 km personal best stands at 15:43.
Also lining up are Burundi’s Elvanie Nimbona, Italy’s Federica Del Buono—fourth over 10,000m at the European Championships in Rome and a 1:10:07 half-marathon debutant—along with Micol Majori and Valentina Gemetto, who recently finished third in Soria and fourth at the Cinque Mulini.
Men’s 10 km
The men’s 10 km race will see the top four finishers from last year—Bekele, Crippa, Charles Rotich, and Maxime Chaumeton—renew their rivalry, with the addition of world-class star Kejelcha adding further intrigue.
Kejelcha set the world half marathon record of 57:30 in Valencia in 2024 and is a two-time world silver medallist over 10,000 metres (Doha 2019, Tokyo 2025) as well as a two-time world indoor champion over 3000 metres (Portland 2016, Birmingham 2018). His personal bests stand at 12:38.95 for 5000m and 26:31.01 for 10,000m.
Crippa returns to Bolzano for the 10th time in his career and has finished runner-up in each of the past three editions. The Italian has claimed European gold in the 10,000m in Munich 2022 and the half marathon in Rome 2024, and set a marathon personal best of 2:06:06 in Seville earlier this year. He arrives after autumn victories at the Giro al Sas in Trento and a solid 2:10:59 performance at the Valencia Marathon.
“I’m always happy to race in Bolzano because of the atmosphere and the passion of the crowd,” said Crippa.
Defending champion Bekele returns after winning last year’s race in 27:59, edging Crippa by two seconds in a thrilling finish at Bolzano’s Waltherplatz. The Ethiopian has a Diamond League win over 5000m in Rome (2019) and set his personal best of 12:42.70 in Monaco in 2023.
“I’m in good shape and I enjoy competing in Italy,” said Bekele. “I hope to win again, although this year’s race will be tougher.”
Chaumeton competes in Bolzano for the fourth consecutive year after podium finishes in 2022 and 2023 and fourth place in 2024. The South African recently captured his second national 5000m title and lowered his national 10 km road record to 26:51 in Brașov, Romania.
Kenya’s Rotich, just 20 years old, makes his second appearance after finishing third in 28:08 last year.
Also in the field are Italy’s Badr Jaafari, fresh from winning the Italian half marathon title in Cremona and the Firenze Marathon on his debut over the distance, and Luca Alfieri, the reigning Italian cross country champion.
