A brief history of the World Cross Country Championships

In 500 days, the Australian evo-city of Bathurst, an icon of Australian sport, will host the 44th edition of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships.

The World Athletics Country Championships is widely considered more challenging to win than an Olympic or world championship, on the track or on the road, due to the fact that the one race includes athletes from 1500m to marathon.

The first IAAF World Athletics Cross Country Championships were held in Waregem, Belgium on the 17 March 1973. Prior to this the International Cross Country Union (ICCU) had conducted 59 editions of the annual International Cross Country Championships from 1903. At the ICCU Congress in 1971, it was resolved to transfer the organisation of future International Cross Country Championships from the ICCU to the IAAF.

At the inaugural IAAF World Athletics Cross Country Championships, 285 athletes from 21 countries contest three races, men open, women open and junior men, over distances of 12km, 4km and 7km respectively. In 1989 the women’s junior race was added. Between 1998 and 2006 a ‘Short Course’ event was included. Generally, the men’s race has been conducted over a distance of 12km, until 2017 when the length was reduced to 10km to match the women. The women’s distance has varied considerably, between 1973 and 1997 it ranged from 4km to about 6.6km. From 1998 8km was used and in 2017 it was extended to 10km for parity with the men.

In 1981, Ethiopian and Kenya sent their first teams to the World Cross Country Championships. It took just five years in the men (in 1986 through John Ngugi) to win their first senior title. The first women’s title by these two nations was won by Helen Chepngeno in 1994. Following these two wins, African nations have dominated the individual and team titles. In 1988 Kenyan men swept the medals and in 2010 they won all four individual and four team titles. A number of other African countries have been very competitively and as recently as 2019, Uganda shone going 1-2 in the open men’s race and claiming a number of other individual and team medals.

Venues for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships from 1973 have been dominated by European hosts - on 31 occasions. Africa have held the event on six occasions followed by America and Asia twice and South America once. When Australia host the championships in 2021, it will be the second occasion Oceania have held the prestigious event, following New Zealand in 1988.

David Tarbotton for Athletics Australia