Athletics News

Belgrade to host 2026 European Cross Country Championships

Belgrade to host 2026 European Cross Country Championships

It will be the second time that the Serbian capital has staged the event after 2013

Belgrade has been awarded the 2026 European Cross Country Championships.

The Serbian capital will host the event for the second time – they first held it in 2013 – after a decision by the European Athletics Council Meeting in Lausanne (August 28).

The championships will once again take place in Belgrade’s Friendship Park, which also hosted last year’s World Cross Country Championships after they were moved from Medulin and Pula, Croatia.

European Athletics president Dobromir Karamarinov said: “We are very happy to award the SPAR European Cross Country Championships 2026 to Belgrade. We still have fond memories of the 2013 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, and since then the federation and city’s experience has grown considerably through hosting the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships, the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships, and most recently the 2024 World Cross Country Championships. Each of these events was organised to an exceptionally high standard.”

Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Getty)

Slobodan Branković, director of the Serbian Athletics Federation and member of the European Athletics Council, said: “It is a great honour that European Athletics has recognised our dedication and the quality of organising previous major competitions. This is yet another confirmation that Serbia and Belgrade are capable of hosting the most important athletics events.

“I am confident that we will organise the 2026 SPAR  European Cross Country Championships at the highest level, to the pride of all citizens of Serbia and to the benefit of the development of our sport.”

At last season’s European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Nadia Battocletti secured the senior individual titles.

Ingebrigtsen picked up his seventh individual gold medal at the championships – four junior and three senior – while Battocletti became the first female athlete to win individual under-20, under-23 and senior titles.

READ MORE: 9 takeaways from the 2024 World Cross in Belgrade

Great Britain topped the medal table with six golds (Will Barnicoat, Phoebe Anderson, Innes FitzGerald, under-23 men, under-23 women and under-20 men) and 12 medals overall.

This year’s European Cross Country Championships take place in Lagoa, Portugal (December 14).

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