UK Athletics have announced the Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad heading to Belgrade, Serbia for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships later this month (30 March).

The team has been selected to fulfil the aims of the policy which are for team medal success at the event, supporting senior athletes in preparation for future global track success, and providing opportunities for developing junior athletes with the potential for future success at cross country championships. The senior women’s team will see European bronze medallist Abbie Donnelly lead the quintet in Serbia. After sealing a place on the individual podium at the Euros last December, Donnelly has won both the London and Nottingham Cross Challenge fixtures since the turn of the year.

She will be joined by World 10,000m eighth placer Jess Warner-Judd, who returns to the terrain after a fifth-place finish at the Europeans. Niamh Brown, Alice Goodall and Lauren McNeil complete the team and all three will make their senior debuts for GB & NI.

European cross U23 champion Will Barnicoat steps up to the senior team for the first time at these Championships. He will be joined by UK Inter-Counties champion Callum Johnson, Tom Evans, James Kingston and Scott Stirling. Looking for the first GB & NI medal in the event at a world cross, Adam Fogg, Thomas Keen, Alex Millard and Bethan Morley make up the senior mixed relay quartet.

In the junior races, European champion Innes Fitzgerald leads the women’s quartet, while Jess Bailey, Eliza Nicholson and Natasha Phillips add further firepower to the squad in Belgrade. Second at the UK Inter-Counties, James Dargan leads the U20 men’s line-up, and he will be joined by Henry Dover, Quinn Miell-Ingram and Craig Shennan.

Team Leader, Chris Jones, said: “After an impressive set of results across the cross country season, we are thrilled to be selecting such strong teams across the events for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships.

“There are several athletes in the team who have stepped up and produced some outstanding performances on the big stage in recent times, while others have earned their first call-ups, so we look forward to seeing how they perform against the world’s best later this month. The event is an as a stepping-stone towards success at future global track and field championships, which is in line with the overarching Endurance strategy for UK Athletics, so it is highly important and prestigious fixture in the calendar.”

The Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, Belgrade, Serbia, on Saturday 30 March 2024:  

Senior Women

Niamh Brown (Tim Eglen, Aldershot Farnham and District)

Abbie Donnelly (Rob Lewis, Lincoln Wellington)

Alice Goodall (Mark Pollard, Edinburgh AC)

Lauren McNeil (Hallamshire)

Jessica Warner-Judd (Mick Judd, Blackburn)

Senior Men

Will Barnicoat (Tim Eglen, Aldershot Farnham and District)

Tom Evans (Scott Johnson, Lewes)

Callum Johnson (Gateshead)

James Kingston (Mark Hookway, Tonbridge)

Scott Stirling (John Pentecost, Falkirk)

U20 Women

Jess Bailey (Matthew Long, Leven Valley)

Innes Fitzgerald (Gavin Pavey, Exeter)

Eliza Nicholson (Mike Reeves, Blackheath and Bromley)

Natasha Phillips (Dundee Hawkhill)  

U20 Men

James Dargan (Mick Woods, Aldershot Farnham and District)

Henry Dover (Shaftesbury Barnet)

Quinn Miell-Ingram (Wendy Miell-Ingram, Radley)

Craig Shennan (Dudley Walker, Giffnock North)

Senior Mixed Relay

Adam Fogg (Cory Leslie, Coventry)

Thomas Keen (Mark Vile, Cambridge and Coleridge)

Alex Millard (Bill Foster, Invicta East Kent)

Bethan Morley (Bill Foster, Leeds)

Team Staff

Team Leader: Chris Jones

Team Coaches: Luke Gunn (Senior Mixed Relay), Eamonn Martin (Senior Men), Sonia McGeorge (Senior Women), Jackie Newton (U20 Women) and James Thie (U20 Men)

Medical: Stuart Butler and Fiona Henry

Team Management: Ethan Walker