10.12.2021

| Cross EM Preview

Nicholas Walter

The German team travels to Ireland for the European Cross Country Championship, with the much-improved Constance Kloster Halfen. With a mix of experienced athletes and some promising talent, DLV goes on a medal hunt in Dublin on Sunday and meets some of the biggest names.

The year is coming to an end. But before taking a break worthy of athletics during the Christmas period, there is another highlight in the upcoming weekend program. The European Cross Country Championships will be held in Dublin on Sunday (December 12) – the second time since 2009 in the Irish capital.

“The expectation is very high. We had another digital team meeting on Tuesday evening and you can feel the positive tension growing in the team. We are waiting for the departure, ”said Lauf Adi Sar, team manager at the German Athletics Association (DLV), which predicted the mood of the German team.

DLV is represented by a total of 30 athletes in seven competitions. The DLV team is led by Constance Closter Halfen (TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen), who finished third at the World Cup, finishing last in four years at the starting line of the cross-country race. Sparkassen crossed the 6,600m mark in 24:42 minutes.

Alina Reh is back at the international level for the first time

At Youth Field, Constance Closter Halfen has already won a number of medals at the Cross-Country Championships. The 24-year-old won the U20 title in 2016 and won silver in the U23 class a year later. Now let’s pursue her first medal in the active field. But the TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen athlete wants to start at the European Championships without pressure. “I am going to Ireland with no hope. I stand at the starting line and start running. There is something negligible in cross-country skiing. The happy thing is that you are with the team, not running for you, ”she said.

The German team will include Alina Rehm (SSC Berlin), who finished second in Piforshime behind Constance Closter Halfen. The 24-year-old, who won gold at the U23 European Championships in cross-country skiing in 2017, will compete outside Germany for the first time since the breakdown. Elena Burkard (LG Farbtex Nordzschwarzwald), the ninth-best German to finish ninth at the European Cross Country Championships in Lisbon (Portugal) two years ago, will have to wait patiently for the metatarsal to return. Instead, the German women’s team has other good runners: Vera Kautelier (ASV Cologne), Celine Kaiser (LAC Freiburg), Dominica Meyer (LG Teles Finance Regensburg).

Samuel Fitzgerald wants to “run for medals if possible”

In the German men’s team, the name is Samuel Fitwi (LG Vulcanifel). The German record holder, who finished sixth at the cross country championships six years ago, said: ) Unexpectedly defeated the 24-year-old.

Philimon Abraham, Jonathan Dalke (TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen) and Johannes M‌shmann (SCC Berlin) from LG Festina Rupertivinkel, winners of the Mountain Runners’ Nations Cup at the end of October, finished the German team. As expected at the European Championships, the Dublin DLV team will measure itself against some of the strongest runners on the continent. For example, the Norwegian 1,500-meter Olympic champion Jacob Ingബ്രbrig‌son and his brother Philip joined him. In 2018, Philip Ingbrig‌sen won gold at the Cross Country Championships in Tilburg (Netherlands).

Great Britain cleaned up in 2019 on a large scale

Aras Kaya (Turkey) will start third at the 2018 Cross Country Championships and Jimmy Greier of France, who won the 2019 U23 class. The British team, which had won the previous edition of the team rankings in the men’s and women’s categories in the Under-20 classes and mixed competition, will once again compete with Andrew Bouchard.

International competition is also great for women. Among others, defending champion Yasmin Kane from Turkey and U23 European champion Anna Emily Moller of U23 will start the 2019 cross-country skiing.

In addition to the active class competitions, the Dublin program also features youth competitions in the U23 and U20. Among others, Selma Benfeires (LC Rehlingen), Lisa Oed (SSC Hanau Rodenbach) and Nick Jagger (TSV Pensberg) travel to Ireland for DLV’s U23 team at the U23 European Championships over 10,000 meters. It’s exciting to see how the German aces will work against Nadia Batocleti (Italy), the 2019 Under – 20 champion.

European Athletics Plant Livestream

At the U20, Emma Heckel (LG Teles Finance Regensburg), Aneke Wortmeyer (ASV Duisburg) and Bastian Mrochen (LG Reinhardswald) will represent German colors. In the men’s class, the hosts considered European champion Cian McPhillips above 1,500 meters to have a good chance of winning at home – but he was injured shortly afterwards.

All competitions at the Cross Country Championships in Dublin will be accompanied by an English language commentary. European Athletics Website Or on SportPortal der European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Can be seen in a live stream. The exact broadcast time has not yet been determined and will be updated accordingly in our TV section before the event starts.