# 1972 International Cross Country Championships

The 1972 International Cross Country Championships was held in Cambridge, England, at the Coldhams Common on 18 March 1972. A report on the men's event was given in the Glasgow Herald. This was the last competition organized by the International Cross Country Union (ICCU). The organization of the event was transferred to the IAAF as recommended as a result of the meeting of the IAAF cross-country committee that year in London. It was continued as IAAF World Cross Country Championships. From then on, the event was open for all IAAF members whereas before, non-ICCU members were only allowed to compete after special invitation.
Complete results for men, junior men, women, medallists, and the results of British athletes were published.

## Medallists

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Individual |||||||
| Men 7.5 mi (12.1 km) | Gaston Roelants Belgium | 37:43 | Mariano Haro Spain | 38:01 | Ian Stewart Scotland | 38:20 |
| Junior Men 4.35 mi (7.0 km) | Aldo Tomasini Italy | 23:20 | Jim Brown Scotland | 23:35 | Franco Fava Italy | 23:45 |
| Women 2.8 mi (4.5 km) | Joyce Smith England | 16:11 | Eileen Claugus United States | 16:13 | Rita Ridley England | 16:19 |
| Team |||||||
| Men | England | 84 | Morocco | 94 | Belgium | 140 |
| Junior Men | Italy | 19 | England | 22 | Morocco | 26 |
| Women | England | 22 | United States | 40 | Scotland | 64 |

## Individual Race Results
### Men's (7.5 mi / 12.1 km)

| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
| | Gaston Roelants | Belgium | 37:43 |
| | Mariano Haro | Spain | 38:01 |
| | Ian Stewart | Scotland | 38:20 |
| 4 | Tapio Kantanen | Finland | 38:25 |
| 5 | Trevor Wright [pl] | England | 38:26 |
| 6 | Pekka Päivärinta | Finland | 38:28 |
| 7 | Eric de Beck | Belgium | 38:31 |
| 8 | Tony Simmons | England | 38:36 |
| 9 | Haddou Jaddour | Morocco | 38:43 |
| 10 | Lucien Rault | France | 38:47 |
| 11 | Mohamed Ben Abdelsalem | Morocco | 38:50 |
| 12 | Mejjati Lahcen | Morocco | 38:52 |
| 13 | Moumoh Haddou | Morocco | 38:56 |
| 14 | Juan Hidalgo | Spain | 39:04 |
| 15 | Allan Rushmer | England | 39:16 |
| 16 | Colin Robinson | England | 39:16 |
| 17 | Karel Lismont | Belgium | 39:21 |
| 18 | Grenville Tuck | England | 39:28 |
| 19 | Malcolm Thomas | Wales | 39:33 |
| 20 | Jim Alder | Scotland | 39:35 |
| 21 | Tony Ashton | Wales | 39:37 |
| 22 | Keith Angus | England | 39:38 |
| 23 | José Maiz | Spain | 39:39 |
| 24 | Amakdouf Layachi | Morocco | 39:40 |
| 25 | Ghazi Ben Lahcen | Morocco | 39:40 |
| 26 | Gabriele Barbaro | Italy | 39:42 |
| 27 | Lachie Stewart | Scotland | 39:43 |
| 28 | Neil Cusack | Ireland | 39:45 |
| 29 | Fritz Rüegsegger | Switzerland | 39:47 |
| 30 | Gerry Stevens | England | 39:48 |
| 31 | Christian Dudouet | France | 39:49 |
| 32 | Pat Gilseman | Ireland | 39:52 |
| 33 | Mohamed Sghir | Morocco | 39:54 |
| 34 | René Goris | Belgium | 39:58 |
| 35 | Jean-Yves Le Flohic | France | 40:01 |
| 36 | Alistair Blamire | Scotland | 40:02 |
| 37 | Ben Abdel Kader | Morocco | 40:03 |
| 38 | Francois Blommaerts | Belgium | 40:04 |
| 39 | Rauno Mattila | Finland | 40:06 |
| 40 | Tom O'Riordan | Ireland | 40:07 |
| 41 | Renato Martini | Italy | 40:10 |
| 42 | Santiago de la Parte | Spain | 40:13 |
| 43 | Gilbert Hanssens | Belgium | 40:15 |
| 44 | Andrew McKean | Scotland | 40:16 |
| 45 | Raimo Karsikas | Finland | 40:17 |
| 46 | Noel Tijou | France | 40:18 |
| 47 | René Jourdan | France | 40:18 |
| 48 | Hans Lang | Switzerland | 40:22 |
| 49 | Carlos Pérez | Spain | 40:23 |
| 50 | Eddy Rombaux | Belgium | 40:29 |
| 51 | Marcel Lechevallier | France | 40:32 |
| 52 | Paddy Coyle | Ireland | 40:35 |
| 53 | Bill Robinson | England | 40:36 |
| 54 | Mikko Ala-Leppilamppi | Finland | 40:37 |
| 55 | Albrecht Moser | Switzerland | 40:40 |
| 56 | Toni Zimmermann | Switzerland | 40:41 |
| 57 | Frank Grillaert | Belgium | 40:47 |
| 58 | Steve Kenyon | England | 40:49 |
| 59 | Sean O'Sullivan | Ireland | 40:51 |
| 60 | Bernie Plain | Wales | 40:52 |
| 61 | Franco Veronese | Italy | 40:53 |
| 62 | John Buckley | Ireland | 40:59 |
| 63 | Dennis Fowles | Wales | 41:01 |
| 64 | Franco Ambrosioni | Italy | 41:01 |
| 65 | Alfons Sidler | Switzerland | 41:02 |
| 66 | Giovanni Pizzi | Italy | 41:09 |
| 67 | Jörg Weber | Switzerland | 41:10 |
| 68 | Alan Cass | Wales | 41:12 |
| 69 | Jean-Pierre Ouine | France | 41:13 |
| 70 | Antoine Borowski | France | 41:21 |
| 71 | Francesco De Menego | Italy | 41:27 |
| 72 | Walter Fähndrich | Switzerland | 41:27 |
| 73 | Dick Wedlock | Scotland | 41:28 |
| 74 | Luigi Conti | Italy | 41:29 |
| 75 | John Phelan | Ireland | 41:30 |
| 76 | John Myatt | Scotland | 41:34 |
| 77 | Rafael García | Spain | 41:36 |
| 78 | Jean-Paul Le Gall | France | 41:37 |
| 79 | Frank Greally | Ireland | 41:38 |
| 80 | Mario Binato | Italy | 41:52 |
| 81 | Ian McCafferty | Scotland | 41:54 |
| 82 | John Jones | Wales | 41:54 |
| 83 | Javier Álvarez | Spain | 41:56 |
| 84 | Johan Janssens | Belgium | 41:57 |
| 85 | Veijo Sallinen | Finland | 42:09 |
| 86 | Ramon Tasende | Spain | 42:19 |
| 87 | Padraig Keane | Ireland | 42:26 |
| 88 | Gerry Hannon | Northern Ireland | 42:31 |
| 89 | Ian Morrison | Northern Ireland | 42:36 |
| 90 | Julio Gude | Spain | 42:45 |
| 91 | Jim Wight | Scotland | 42:47 |
| 92 | Dic Evans | Wales | 42:56 |
| 93 | Primo Gretter | Italy | 42:56 |
| 94 | Jim McGuinness | Northern Ireland | 43:19 |
| 95 | Nigel Evans | Wales | 43:31 |
| 96 | Brian Brookes | Wales | 43:43 |
| 97 | Roy Kernoghan | Northern Ireland | 43:46 |
| 98 | John McLaughlin | Northern Ireland | 44:24 |
| 99 | Ian Cotton | Northern Ireland | 44:35 |
| 100 | Kevin Morgan | Northern Ireland | 45:29 |
| 101 | Ernie Cunningham | Northern Ireland | 45:59 |
| 102 | Tom Quinn | Northern Ireland | 46:16 |

### Junior Men's (4.35 mi / 7.0 km)

| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
| | Aldo Tomasini | Italy | 23:20 |
| | Jim Brown | Scotland | 23:35 |
| | Franco Fava | Italy | 23:45 |
| 4 | David Black | England | 23:48 |
| 5 | Larbi M'Hidra | Morocco | 23:58 |
| 6 | Barry Smith | England | 24:04 |
| 7 | Ahmed Roubial | Morocco | 24:07 |
| 8 | Ricardo Ortega | Spain | 24:09 |
| 9 | Fernando Cerrada | Spain | 24:18 |
| 10 | José Haro | Spain | 24:21 |
| 11 | Kamel Guemar | Algeria | 24:21 |
| 12 | Dennis Coates | England | 24:31 |
| 13 | Paul Bannon | Scotland | 24:33 |
| 14 | Mohamed Chahin | Morocco | 24:43 |
| 15 | Luca Bigatello | Italy | 24:46 |
| 16 | Léon Schots | Belgium | 24:53 |
| 17 | Peter Ratcliffe | Wales | 24:55 |
| 18 | Mark Broeckx | Belgium | 24:57 |
| 19 | Robin Walker | Ireland | 24:59 |
| 20 | Laurence Reilly | Scotland | 25:01 |
| 21 | Abdelkrim Djelassi | Tunisia | 25:03 |
| 22 | Ben Aissa Ben Jelloun | Morocco | 25:06 |
| 23 | Ronald MacDonald | Scotland | 25:13 |
| 24 | Franz Bühler | Switzerland | 25:14 |
| 25 | Hanspeter Stauffacher | Switzerland | 25:17 |
| 26 | Eamonn Coghlan | Ireland | 25:18 |
| 27 | Taieb Merdassi | Tunisia | 25:19 |
| 28 | Brian Donovan | Wales | 25:20 |
| 29 | Robert Lismont | Belgium | 25:21 |
| 30 | Francisco Morera | Spain | 25:23 |
| 31 | Tony Staynings | England | 25:28 |
| 32 | Desmond O'Connor | Ireland | 25:32 |
| 33 | John Davies | Wales | 25:37 |
| 34 | Franky Calus | Belgium | 25:41 |
| 35 | Julian Goater | England | 25:42 |
| 36 | Lakhdar Boulkhoukh | Algeria | 25:50 |
| 37 | Steve Slocombe | Wales | 25:51 |
| 38 | Hugo Wey | Switzerland | 25:53 |
| 39 | Abdelmadjid Mada | Algeria | 26:03 |
| 40 | Richard Samuels | Wales | 26:05 |
| 41 | Mohamed Moussa | Tunisia | 26:16 |
| 42 | Mohamed Ben Tayeb | Algeria | 26:23 |
| 43 | Paul Moeyaert | Belgium | 26:24 |
| 44 | Mohamed Ouertani | Tunisia | 26:26 |
| 45 | Tom Hesketh | Northern Ireland | 26:34 |
| 46 | Michael Treacy | Ireland | 26:40 |
| 47 | Phil English | Ireland | 26:57 |
| 48 | Roberto Volpi | Italy | 26:58 |
| 49 | Dessi Martin | Northern Ireland | 27:00 |
| 50 | Lawrie Spence | Scotland | 27:04 |
| 51 | Paul Younger | Northern Ireland | 27:25 |
| 52 | Martin Donaldson | Northern Ireland | 28:19 |
| — | José Luis Ruiz | Spain | DNF |
| — | Mario Brembilla | Italy | DNF |

### Women's (2.8 mi / 4.5 km)

| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
| | Joyce Smith | England | 16:11 |
| | Eileen Claugus | United States | 16:13 |
| | Rita Ridley | England | 16:19 |
| 4 | Josee van Santberghe | Belgium | 16:20 |
| 5 | Margaret Coomber | Scotland | 16:31 |
| 6 | Paola Pigni | Italy | 16:34 |
| 7 | Sheila Carey | England | 16:42 |
| 8 | Jean Lochhead | Wales | 16:43 |
| 9 | Caroline Walker | United States | 16:45 |
| 10 | Giuseppina Torello | Italy | 16:47 |
| 11 | Ann Yeoman | England | 16:49 |
| 12 | Joan Allison | England | 16:52 |
| 13 | Mary Lynch | Ireland | 16:55 |
| 14 | Beth Bonner | United States | 16:57 |
| 15 | Deborah Roth | United States | 17:03 |
| 16 | Tena Anex | United States | 17:03 |
| 17 | Mary Stewart | Scotland | 17:05 |
| 18 | Angela Lovell | England | 17:09 |
| 19 | Christine Haskett | Scotland | 17:10 |
| 20 | Deirdre Foreman | Ireland | 17:11 |
| 21 | Bronwen Cardy | Wales | 17:19 |
| 22 | Ann Cumming | Ireland | 17:19 |
| 23 | Ann Barrass | Scotland | 17:21 |
| 24 | Margherita Gargano | Italy | 17:26 |
| 25 | Jane Hill | United States | 17:30 |
| 26 | Bernadette van Roy | Belgium | 17:31 |
| 27 | Rosemary Stirling | Scotland | 17:33 |
| 28 | Waltraud Egger | Italy | 17:35 |
| 29 | Mary Speedman | Scotland | 17:36 |
| 30 | Susan Barnes | Wales | 17:37 |
| 31 | Carmen Valero | Spain | 17:51 |
| 32 | Liève van den Broeck | Belgium | 17:54 |
| 33 | Mary Kelly | Ireland | 17:57 |
| 34 | Thelwyn Bateman | Wales | 18:13 |
| 35 | Beatrice Lambert | Ireland | 18:18 |
| 36 | Marion Hepworth | Wales | 18:29 |
| 37 | Lesley John | Wales | 18:32 |
| 38 | Magda Versluys | Belgium | 18:43 |
| 39 | Lutgard van Brempt | Belgium | 18:48 |
| 40 | Grazia Bertoldo Retter | Italy | 18:56 |
| 41 | Pamela Reece | Northern Ireland | 19:09 |
| 42 | Christine Gleeson | Ireland | 19:25 |
| 43 | Angela Kirkpatrick | Northern Ireland | 21:13 |
| — | Zina Boniolo | Italy | DNF |

## Team Results
### Men's

| Rank | Country | Team | Points |
| 1 | England | Trevor Wright [pl] Tony Simmons Allan Rushmer Colin Robinson Grenville Tuck Keith Angus | 84 |
| 2 | Morocco | Haddou Jaddour Mohamed Ben Abdelsalem Mejjati Lahcen Moumoh Haddou Amakdouf Layachi Ghazi Ben Lahcen | 94 |
| 3 | Belgium | Gaston Roelants Eric de Beck Karel Lismont René Goris Francois Blommaerts Gilbert Hanssens | 140 |
| 4 | Scotland | Ian Stewart Jim Alder Lachie Stewart Alistair Blamire Andrew McKean Dick Wedlock | 203 |
| 5 | Spain | Mariano Haro Juan Hidalgo José Maiz Santiago de la Parte Carlos Pérez Rafael García | 207 |
| 6 | France | Lucien Rault Christian Dudouet Jean-Yves Le Flohic Noel Tijou René Jourdan Marcel Lechevallier | 220 |
| 7 | Finland | Tapio Kantanen Pekka Päivärinta Rauno Mattila Raimo Karsikas Mikko Ala-Leppilamppi Veijo Sallinen | 233 |
| 8 | Ireland | Neil Cusack Pat Gilseman Tom O'Riordan Paddy Coyle Sean O'Sullivan John Buckley | 273 |
| 9 | Wales | Malcolm Thomas Tony Ashton Bernie Plain Dennis Fowles Alan Cass John Jones | 313 |
| 10 | Switzerland | Fritz Rüegsegger Hans Lang Albrecht Moser Toni Zimmermann Alfons Sidler Jörg Weber | 320 |
| 11 | Italy | Gabriele Barbaro Renato Martini Franco Veronese Franco Ambrosioni Giovanni Pizzi Francesco De Menego | 329 |
| 12 | Northern Ireland | Gerry Hannon Ian Morrison Jim McGuinness Roy Kernoghan John McLaughlin Ian Cotton | 565 |

### Junior Men's

| Rank | Country | Team | Points |
| 1 | Italy | Aldo Tomasini Franco Fava Luca Bigatello | 19 |
| 2 | England | David Black Barry Smith Dennis Coates | 22 |
| 3 | Morocco | Larbi M'Hidra Ahmed Roubial Mohamed Chahin | 26 |
| 4 | Spain | Ricardo Ortega Fernando Cerrada José Haro | 27 |
| 5 | Scotland | Jim Brown Paul Bannon Laurence Reilly | 35 |
| 6 | Belgium | Léon Schots Mark Broeckx Robert Lismont | 63 |
| 7 | Ireland | Robin Walker Eamonn Coghlan Desmond O'Connor | 77 |
| 8 | Wales | Peter Ratcliffe Brian Donovan John Davies | 78 |
| 9 | Algeria | Kamel Guemar Lakhdar Boulkhoukh Abdelmadjid Mada | 86 |
| 10 | Switzerland | Franz Bühler Hanspeter Stauffacher Hugo Wey | 87 |
| 11 | Tunisia | Abdelkrim Djelassi Taieb Merdassi Mohamed Moussa | 89 |
| 12 | Northern Ireland | Tom Hesketh Dessi Martin Paul Younger | 145 |

### Women's

| Rank | Country | Team | Points |
| 1 | England | Joyce Smith Rita Ridley Sheila Carey Ann Yeoman | 22 |
| 2 | United States | Eileen Claugus Caroline Walker Beth Bonner Deborah Roth | 40 |
| 3 | Scotland | Margaret Coomber Mary Stewart Christine Haskett Ann Barrass | 64 |
| 4 | Italy | Paola Pigni Giuseppina Torello Margherita Gargano Waltraud Egger | 68 |
| 5 | Ireland | Mary Lynch Deirdre Foreman Ann Cumming Mary Kelly | 88 |
| 6 | Wales | Jean Lochhead Bronwen Cardy Susan Barnes Thelwyn Bateman | 93 |
| 7 | Belgium | Josee van Santberghe Bernadette van Roy Liève van den Broeck Magda Versluys | 100 |

## Participation

An unofficial count yields the participation of 200 athletes from 15 countries.
* Algeria (4)
* Belgium (19)
* England (20)
* Finland (6)
* France (9)
* Ireland (20)
* Italy (20)
* Morocco (12)
* Northern Ireland (15)
* Scotland (20)
* Spain (15)
* Switzerland (10)
* Tunisia (4)
* United States (6)
* Wales (20)