The African Cross Country Championships is a regional cross country running competition for athletes from Africa.
History The competition had a one off edition in 1985 in Nairobi, Kenya, and the medallists were mostly from the host nation.African Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-02-23. Following an announcement by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that the IAAF World Cross Country Championships would change to a biennial format, the Confederation of African Athletics stated that the 2011 African Cross Country Championships would be held in Cape Town, South Africa, marking a relaunch of the competition.CAA Council . Confederation of African Athletics (Autumn 2009). Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
While all other continental regions defined by the IAAF have had their own regional cross country championships on an annual or biennial basis, Africa did not have a regular competition in this mould for a long period. This may have been due to a number of factors including: the high status of annual cross country meetings such as the Kenya National Cross Country Championships and the Jan Meda International Cross Country (which doubles as the Ethiopian championships),Ethiopia Cross Country Championships . Time to Run (2008-02-06). Retrieved on 2010-02-23. the size of the region, the prominence of smaller regional championships, and the comparative lack of resources available to the Confederation of African Athletics.
The fact that the majority of the sport's top competitors come from Africa means that the top runners at the World Cross Country Championships, especially in the men's section, are largely the same ones which would form the field of an African Championships – at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships the top 25 finishers in the men's race, and the top 12 in the women's race, were all African-born.2009 Senior Race - M Final . IAAF (2009-03-28). Retrieved on 2010-02-23.2009 Senior Race - W Final . IAAF (2009-03-28). Retrieved on 2010-02-23. Commenting on the dominance of the competition, IAAF president Lamine Diack said that the competition had "become not only an African affair but an East African affair, and these days you don't even get athletes from West Africa competing".Africa fears changes in marathon format is bad news. The Indian Express (2009-09-16). Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
A number of smaller regional championships have been held in Africa: the East African Cross Country Championships and the Maghreb Cross Country Championships in North Africa are both well-established competitions.East African Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.North African Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-02-23. West and Central African competitions have also been held in past years.West African Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.Central African Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
The 6th championships were originally scheduled for 2020 in Togo, the competition was delayed by four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and the venue was moved.
Editions Edition Year Venue City Country No. ofathletes—1985NairobiKenya1st2011Koerboom ParkCape TownSouth Africa2ndWilliamson, Norrie (2012-03-19). Langat and Chepkirui take African XC titles in Cape Town. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-03-25.2012Koerboom ParkCape TownSouth Africa1603rdKyeyune, Elly (2013-06-11). . ChimpReports. Retrieved on 2013-06-19.2014KololoKampalaUganda4th2016YaoundéCameroon5th5th CAA African Cross-Country Championships - Chlef 20182018ChlefAlgeria2024Yasmine HammametHammametTunisia116
Medals (1985-2024) Source:
Consist of all individual and team events in senior, U23 and U20.
Champions YearMen's senior raceWomen's senior raceMen's teamWomen's teamMixed relay1985201120122014201620182024
References
External links Athletics Africa website