This week in Athletics, we had the European Cross Country Championships, A record-breaking run in Thailand, and the end of the road could be near for Grand Slam Track

Brits hit six at Eurocross 

 Lagoa in the Algarve was the scene of what will be, for most, the final event of 2025. The European Cross Country Championships returned to Portugal, on a man-made course in a former industrial park.

A multi-lap route that started on grass and finished on gravel seemed to test the limits of an elite field of over 600 athletes from 32 countries. 

The day opened with the inevitable as Great Britain’s Innes FitzGerald stormed to her third women’s U20 European title in a time of 14:36. The other major headline on the podium was that of Emma Hickey, the 16-year-old Irish runner set the ball rolling on what was to be a historic day for those in emerald Green.

It was another 16-year-old whose late drive down the home straight helped nudge Britain to their second gold. Beth Lewis turned on the afterburners to finish 14th, and after Isabel Holt joined them in 20th, GB were confirmed as Women’s U20 team race champions. 

The men’s U20 followed with drama to the maximum. Pre-race favourite Willem Renders hit the front at the halfway mark and was pushed all the way by Spaniard Oscar Gaitan. Tiring and slowing, it wasn’t until a final corner kick that saw the Belgian national champion become the European champion. 

For Great Britain, it was a solid race of consistency tinged with drama. Will Rabjohns crossed in 12th with Alex Lennon in 15th, and despite being originally allocated fourth on the team table, GB were bumped up to Silver. Liverpool Cross Champion Michael Clark had lost one of his spikes in the chaos of the start, but miraculously, the 17-year-old ran the majority of the gravel course with one shoe and placed 18th, handing GB their second team medal in as many races. 

The Women’s U23 saw a young team toe the line for GB, many making their debut in the age grade, with last year's champion Phoebe Anderson moving up to the seniors. 

Maria Forero of Spain kicked late on to down Ilona Mononen of Finland as the European U23 5000m champion took the title. Poole AC’s Emily Parker was the first Brit over the line in 13th (21:03). With Liverpool cross champion Megan Harris not too far behind in 19th (21:14). Former English Schools champion Rebecca Flaherty crossed in 21st (21:19) with teammate India Barwell in 22nd (21:20). GB placed fifth in the team race.

In the men's U23 race, all eyes were on Will Barnicoat to see if he could once again defend his title. But it was to be the man who had previously pushed him all the way that was to be victorious. Nick Griggs has won bronze and silver at the championships in recent years, but from early on, the Irish athlete his the front and did not look back. Being challenged by a solid French pair, Griggs kicked hard and fast on 11 minutes to string out the field, and by the twisting downhill section, he'd left the rest of the field behind for one of the most dominant performances of the day. 

Crossing the line in 17:47, 12 seconds ahead of Radja. Griggs' teammates Connor Morgan and Niall Murphy locked themselves in a sprint finish to take 8th and 9th, securing an emphatic double gold for Ireland. 

Matthew Ramsden finished an impressive 6th for GB whilst defending champion Barnicoat left himself with too much to do coming home in 14th. The next best British finisher was Finnley Proffitt in 31st, landing GB in 4th in the team race.

The mixed relay went on to provide heaps of drama in which the British quartet of Ava Lloyd, Jack Higins, Holly Dixon, and Callum Elson emerged with a hard-fought Bronze medal. 

In stark contrast to all other teams in the race, Turkey opted to start with a male runner before handing over to a female. On the opening leg, Ava Lloyd kept pace with a strong pack on her GB senior debut before handing over to Jack Higgins, who benefitted from a considerably disastrous leg from Ireland's Cian McPhillips, whose incredibly positive season ends with a relay leg that saw multiple overshot corners and a collision with Laura Nicholson as she headed out on her leg.

Higgins handed off to Holly Dixon on her GB debut, who ran an inspired leg to put GB up into second. Callum Elson took the handover wristband behind favourites Italy, as Portugal's Salome Alfonso handed over to 1500m world champion Isaac Nader. 

Elson was returning to international action following an Achilles injury at last year's World Indoor championships in Glasgow. He ran a strong leg largely on his own before being caught by Nader, who would eventually cross in Second. The Brit began to slow and found himself in a sprint finish in which he managed to cross in third and deliver a brilliant bronze.

One of the biggest selection controversies for the British team heading into the championships was that of Megan Keith. The Scot had not competed at either Cardiff or Liverpool but had been selected for her first Cross Championships as a senior. 

It was a rough start, being involved in a collision on the starting straight, where she fell to the ground. With only a few cuts, Keith picked herself up and delivered a clinic in cross-country running. Sticking with the leading pack, including eventual winner Nadia Battocletti and producing a brilliant surge round the final corner to take silver (25:07). She was followed a minute later by last years U23 champion Phoebe Anderson in 16th (26:01) with Verity Ockenden, who was a late replacement for Abbie Donnelly coming home in 21st (26:13) to deliver a team silver. 

The senior men's race was, as many predicted, a straight duel between 10,000m World Champion Jimmy Gressier and last year's bronze medalist Thierry Ndikumwenayo of Spain. 

The pair's duel stretched the length of the course, exchanging positions till the last few hundred metres, till Ndikumwenayo managed to kick down the final downhill section, forcing Gressier out wide on every corner. As the final corner came round, the Spaniard kicked for home as Gressier tripped up the slight incline, handing the title to Ndikumwenayo.

For the Brits, Scott Beattie produced one of the best performances of the day. The Morpeth Harrier, who missed the championships last year due to a passport issue, kept pace with the leaders and was locked in a battle with Dominic Lobalu. Which lasted all the way to the line as Beattie stumbled, just about handing the bronze to the Swiss athlete, confirmed by a photo finish. His teammate, Rory Leonard, made a solid step to the senior level following a successful 2024 at the  U23 level. A 17th-place finish for Leonard, who has clarified he had been struggling with bruising to his knee during the week. Jacob Cann came home in 29th as the third-place finisher, landing GB fourth in the team standings. 

Mondo Mania sees huge Diamond League ticket surge

The announcement of Mondo Duplantis’ appearance at next summer's London Diamond League has sparked a 1150% surge in weekly ticket sales.

Event director Cherry Alexander claims it's an uplift. "We’ve not seen since Usain Bolt was competing and shows just how excited UK fans are to see the world’s greatest pole vaulter back in London."

The 14-time world record holder will compete at the London Stadium on July 18th, 2026. via British Athletics

Loughborough to host BUCS Cross Country

After months of searching for a host, it has been confirmed that Loughborough will stage the BUCS Cross Country Championships in 2026 

The champs will take place at Charnwood College on the 31st of January. via BUCS

Grand Slam Track files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Grand Slam Track has officially filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the United States 

Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows companies to continue to operate under court supervision whilst being protected from legal action by vendors to whom they are indebted.

Grand Slam aims to use this to reposition the league for future sustainability. via BBC Sport

Boonson breaks 10-second barrier

Puripol Boonson storms to a new Thai National Record of 9.94s (0.7) over 100m at the Southeast Asia Games in Bangkok! 

The 19-year-old becomes the first Southeast Asian to break 10 seconds in the men’s 100m

As well as the 5th fastest U20 of all-time, tying Bayanda Walaza.

He went on to win the final in 10.00s. via olympics.com