Antalya 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships
European Athletics President’s Welcome Message
I am delighted to welcome everyone to the 30th edition of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships here in the beautiful Mediterranean city of Antalya.
It is a thrill and delight to be back in Türkiye once again, especially after the success of the Istanbul 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships, just one of many great athletics events that have been held in this country.
Türkiye has contributed so much to our sport but staging the SPAR European Cross Country Championships is a new venture for the Turkish Athletic Federation, who become the 18th European Athletics Member Federation to organise this event.
However, with Antalya having been the host city for the well-received World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships back in April, the expertise gained from staging that competition, as well as the myriad of the other major athletics events that have taken elsewhere in this wonderful country in the last decade or so – whether at regional, continental or global level – will certainly stand the Local Organising Committee in good stead.
Consequently, I am confident that this will be a superbly organised and memorable SPAR European Cross Country Championships despite Antalya having a hard act to follow after the outstanding event last year in Brussels.
Türkiye has had considerable success at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in the past, and currently lies fourth on the all-time medal table with 21 victories in the history of the championships and has won a further 25 silver and bronze medals.
Among their many victories, gold medals were won by four different senior men in four consecutive years from 2014-18 and the great distance runner Yasemin Can herself won on four consecutive occasions from 2016-19.
Naturally, I wish every athlete in action in Antalya good luck and success, but I also hope that the runners representing Türkiye this year can follow in the footsteps of their illustrious predecessors such as Can and rise to the occasion.
To conclude, I would like to say that European Athletics are very grateful to the Turkish Athletic Federation – Türkiye Atletizm Federasyonu – the Antalya municipal authorities and all the other institutional partners, as well as the officials and volunteers working with the Local Organising Committee for their dedication, hard work, and commitment to staging this event.
Dobromir Karamarinov
European Athletics President
President of Turkish Athletic Federation’s Welcome Message
Dear members of the press,
With 30 years of SPAR European Cross Country Championships behind us, we are delighted to welcome you to Antalya, Türkiye’s tourism centre. On the occasion of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships, it has a special meaning for us to witness the determination to compete and the unifying power of sport in the athletes from all over the continent.
International media are an indispensable part of sport today. Thanks to you, we convey the beauties of athletics and the message we want to convey to the society and add value to our organisations.
We hope that this organisation will be an event that not only highlights the performance of our athletes, but also the spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.
As the Turkish Athletic Federation, we are confident that the efforts and incredible performances of our athletes who will take the course in the championship, as well as the experiences gained here, will have an unforgettable place in the memories of everyone from athletes to coaches, volunteers and supporters.
We sincerely wish success to more than 600 athletes who will take part in the championship and we would like to thank our organising team and everyone who contributed.
Welcome to the European Cross Country Championships, Antalya and Turkey!
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Ahmet KARADAĞ
President of Turkish Athletic Federation