# World University Cross Country Championships

The World University Cross Country Championships is an international biennial cross country running competition for student athletes, organised by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The 2012 edition of the competition featured 76 male and 61 female athletes from 23 countries. Over the history of the event, 64 countries have competed but only three (France, Great Britain and Spain) have been present at all editions of the championships.
First established in 1968 as a men's only event, a women's race was added in 1976 and FISU gave the event its official sanctioning two years later. The programme of each championship consists of one men's and one women's race, with prizes being available for individuals and national teams. The team races are decided by comparing the sum of the finishing places of each nation's top four finishers (for men) or top three finishers (for women). Each country may enter up to six male athletes and five female athletes. A mixed-sex relay was introduced at the 2022 edition.
The 2020 edition set for Marrakech was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
All editions of the competition up to 2006 were hosted by Western European countries. Algiers became the first African nation to host the event in 2006 and Kingston, Ontario brought it to North America for the first time in 2010. Although the competition is limited to athletes studying at university level, the championships has nevertheless attract top level competitors, including: World Championship medallists Steve Moneghetti and Mariem Alaoui Selsouli, as well as World Cross Country team medallists Antonio Serrano and Iulia Olteanu.

## Editions

| Edition | Year | City | Country | Date | Countries | Athletes |
| — | 1968 | Ghent | Belgium | | | |
| — | 1970 | Bern | Switzerland | | | |
| — | 1972 | Guildford | Great Britain | | | |
| — | 1974 | Madrid | Spain | | | |
| — | 1976 | Leuven | Belgium | | | |
| 1st | 1978 | Lausanne | Switzerland | | | |
| 2nd | 1980 | Coleraine | Great Britain | | | |
| 3rd | 1982 | Darmstadt | West Germany | | | |
| 4th | 1984 | Antwerp | Belgium | | | |
| 5th | 1986 | Graz | Austria | | | |
| 6th | 1988 | Bologna | Italy | | | |
| 7th | 1990 | Poznań | Poland | | | |
| 8th | 1992 | Dijon | France | | | |
| 9th | 1994 | Limerick | Ireland | | | |
| 10th | 1996 | Albufeira (Açoteias) | Portugal | | | |
| 11th | 1998 | Luton | Great Britain | | | |
| 12th | 2000 | Jena | Germany | | | |
| 13th | 2002 | Santiago de Compostela | Spain | | | |
| 14th | 2004 | Collegno | Italy | | | |
| 15th | 2006 | Algiers | Algeria | | | |
| 16th | 2008 | Forges-les-Eaux | France | | | |
| 17th | 2010 | Kingston, Ontario | Canada | 11 April | 14 | 96 |
| 18th | 2012 | Łódź | Poland | 14 April | 23 | 137 |
| 19th | 2014 | Entebbe | Uganda | 22 March | 18 | 103 |
| 20th | 2016 | Cassino | Italy | 12 March | 19 | 120 |
| 21st | 2018 | St. Gallen | Switzerland | 7 April | 20 | 124 |
| Cancelled | 2020 | Marrakesh | Morocco | | | |
| 22nd | 2022 | Aveiro | Portugal | 12 March | | |

## Medallists
### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 1968 | Frank Briscoe (GBR) | ? | John Rix (GBR) | ? | ? | ? |
| 1970 | René Goris (BEL) | ? | Georgi Tikhov (BUL) | ? | Alistair Blamire (GBR) | ? |
| 1972 | Jack Lane (GBR) | 28:08 | Andy Holden (GBR) | 28:46 | René Goris (BEL) | 28:54 |
| 1974 | Michael Karst (FRG) | 24:38 | Franco Fava (ITA) | 24:44 | Ian Gilmour (GBR) | 24:55 |
| 1976 | Laurie Reilly (GBR) | 25:16 | Vlastimil Zwiefelhofer (TCH) | 25:16 | Michael Lederer (FRG) | 25:24 |
| 1978 | Antonio Prieto (ESP) | 30:38 | Peter Baker (GBR) | 30:56 | Mehmet Yurdadön (TUR) | 31:02 |
| 1980 | David James (GBR) | 33:57 | Nick Brawn (GBR) | 33:58 | Michael Karst (FRG) | 34:21 |
| 1982 | Frank Zimmermann (FRG) | 36:50 | Christoph Herle (FRG) | 37:04 | Valeriy Gryaznov (URS) | 37:45 |
| 1984 | Michael Scheytt (FRG) | 33:13 | Gerhard Krippner (FRG) | 33:29 | Wiesław Furmanek (POL) | 33:33 |
| 1986 | Steve Moneghetti (AUS) | 40:17 | Lars Sörensen (FIN) | 40:18 | Jiu Shangxuan (CHN) | 40:19 |
| 1988 | Antonio Serrano (ESP) | 24:29 | Anacleto Jiménez (ESP) | 24:38 | Paolo Donati (ITA) | 24:42 |
| 1990 | Ian Hamer (GBR) | 28:02 | Antonio Serrano (ESP) | 28:09 | Haydar Dogan (TUR) | 28:11 |
| 1992 | Shaun Creighton (AUS) | 32:22 | Vítor Almeida (POR) | 32:25 | Bobby Quinn (GBR) | 32:27 |
| 1994 | Spencer Duval (GBR) | 38:49 | Piotr Gładki (POL) | 38:51 | Martin Jones (GBR) | 39:02 |
| 1996 | Daniel Njenga (KEN) | 30:01 | John Mitai Mborothi (KEN) | 30:05 | Bernard Lagat (KEN) | 30:10 |
| 1998 | Juan Puerta (ESP) | 38:23 | Iván Sánchez (ESP) | 38:26 | Mohamed Afaadas (MAR) | 38:29 |
| 2000 | Günther Weidlinger (AUT) | 35:47 | Aziz Driouche (MAR) | 35:54 | Rachid Boulahdid (MAR) | 35:54 |
| 2002 | Abdellah Bay (MAR) | 35:01 | Aziz Driouche (MAR) | 35:03 | Günther Weidlinger (AUT) | 35:09 |
| 2004 | Günther Weidlinger (AUT) | 32:17 | Karim El Mabchour (MAR) | 32:26 | Brahim Chettah (ALG) | 32:39 |
| 2006 | Mohamed Fadil (MAR) | 27:59 | Abdelkebir Lamachi (MAR) | 28:10 | Abdelaziz Azzouzi (MAR) | 28:21 |
| 2008 | Najim El Qady (MAR) | 36:14 | Liam Adams (AUS) | 36:19 | Stephan Hohl (GER) | 36:24 |
| 2010 | Tetsuya Yoroizaka (JPN) | 30:08 | Liam Adams (AUS) | 30:09 | Christian Glatting (GER) | 30:11 |
| 2012 | Abdelmadjed Touil (ALG) | 29:11 | Yuta Shitara (JPN) | 29:15 | Daichi Motomura (JPN) | 29:22 |
| 2014 | Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) | 31:07 | Daniel Muindi (KEN) | 31:13 | Mark Lokwanamoi (KEN) | 32:34 |
| 2016 | Hicham Amghar (MAR) | 33:46 | Reda Jaafar (MAR) | 33:49 | Youssef Ben Had (MAR) | 33:51 |
| 2018 | El Hocine Zourkane (ALG) | 30:21 | Rantso Alfred Mokopane (RSA) | 30:30 | Thamsanga Lukhanyo Theophilus Khonco (RSA) | 30:33 |
| 2022 | Dismas Yeko (UGA) | 28:00 | Markus Görger (GER) | 28:07 | Brian Wangwe (UGA) | 28:12 |

### Men's team

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 1968 | Great Britain | 13 | Belgium | 47 | Italy | 64 |
| 1970 | Great Britain | ? | Italy | ? | Bulgaria | ? |
| 1972 | Great Britain | 12 | Belgium | 43 | Switzerland | 62 |
| 1974 | Italy | 24 | West Germany | 38 | Great Britain | 38 |
| 1976 | Great Britain | 37 | Finland | 43 | West Germany | 43 |
| 1978 | Great Britain | 29 | West Germany | 41 | Spain | 51 |
| 1980 | Great Britain | 13 | West Germany | 23 | France | 65 |
| 1982 | Soviet Union | 18 | West Germany | 26 | Great Britain | 53 |
| 1984 | West Germany | 20 | Great Britain | 52 | Poland | 57 |
| 1986 | Soviet Union | 37 | China | 43 | Australia | 69 |
| 1988 | Spain | 47 | West Germany | 50 | Soviet Union | 51 |
| 1990 | Spain | 30 | Great Britain | 46 | Soviet Union | 67 |
| 1992 | Spain | 35 | Australia | 38 | Great Britain | 58 |
| 1994 | Great Britain | 29 | Spain | 58 | Italy | 77 |
| 1996 | Morocco | 41 | Kenya | 45 | South Africa | 59 |
| 1998 | Spain | 17 | Portugal | 59 | Great Britain | 81 |
| 2000 | Morocco | 14 | Great Britain | 63 | Spain | 75 |
| 2002 | Spain | 32 | Morocco | 41 | Great Britain | 78 |
| 2004 | Morocco | 35 | South Africa | 36 | Spain | 46 |
| 2006 | Morocco | 10 | Algeria | 38 | Spain | 66 |
| 2008 | France | 38 | Great Britain | 61 | Australia | 66 |
| 2010 | Japan | 30 | Spain | 31 | Great Britain | 71 |
| 2012 | Japan | 36 | Ukraine | 57 | Algeria | 61 |
| 2014 | Kenya | 14 | Uganda | 29 | Japan | 47 |
| 2016 | Morocco | 10 | Japan | 31 | Turkey | 62 |
| 2018 | South Africa | 33 | Japan | 35 | Morocco | 40 |
| 2022 | Morocco (MAR) | 21 | Uganda (UGA) | 24 | Germany (GER) | 30 |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 1976 | Vera Kemper (FRG) | 14:09 | Moira O'Boyle (GBR) | 14:57 | Caroline Simpson (GBR) | 15:06 |
| 1978 | Kathryn Binns (GBR) | 17:50 | Renate Kieninger (FRG) | 17:58 | Cherry Hanson (GBR) | 18:05 |
| 1980 | Jill Clarke (GBR) | 22:34 | Cherry Hanson (GBR) | 22:42 | Fionnuala Morrish (IRL) | 22:54 |
| 1982 | Yelena Tsukhlo (URS) | 15:14 | Valentina Ilyinykh (URS) | 15:30 | Marina Rodchenkova (URS) | 15:44 |
| 1984 | Asunción Sinovas (ESP) | 16:41 | Ute Jamrozy (FRG) | 16:45 | Zita Ágoston (HUN) | 16:47 |
| 1986 | Anne Viallix (FRA) | 18:34 | Krishna Wood (AUS) | 18:35 | Tatjana Smolnikar (YUG) | 19:01 |
| 1988 | Viorica Ghican (ROM) | 18:42 | Iulia Besliu (ROM) | 18:48 | Helen Titterington (GBR) | 18:51 |
| 1990 | Julia Vaquero (ESP) | 15:44 | Mónica Gama (POR) | 16:00 | Annette Hüls (FRG) | 16:05 |
| 1992 | Iulia Ionescu (ROM) | 20:01 | Vikki McPherson (GBR) | 20:05 | Irena Czuta (POL) | 20:08 |
| 1994 | Iulia Negura (ROM) | 19:59 | Silvia Sommaggio (ITA) | 20:03 | Julia Vaquero (ESP) | 20:28 |
| 1996 | Lelia Deselnicu (ROM) | 20:45 | María Abel (ESP) | 20:49 | Natalie Harvey (AUS) | 20:50 |
| 1998 | Natalie Harvey (AUS) | 21:51 | Céline Rajot (FRA) | 22:03 | Liz Talbot (GBR) | 22:05 |
| 2000 | Anália Rosa (POR) | 20:03 | Denisa Costescu (ROM) | 20:06 | Cristina Casandra (ROM) | 20:10 |
| 2002 | Denisa Costescu (ROM) | 20:06 | René Kalmer (RSA) | 20:08 | Inês Monteiro (POR) | 20:13 |
| 2004 | Mariem Alaoui Selsouli (MAR) | 22:06 | Louise Damen (GBR) | 22:11 | Sonia Bejarano (ESP) | 22:16 |
| 2006 | Souad Aït Salem (ALG) | 18:54 | Kate Reed (GBR) | 19:04 | Eleanor Baker (GBR) | 19:33 |
| 2008 | Faye Fullerton (GBR) | 22:36 | Fionnuala Britton (IRL) | 22:39 | Ikram Zouglali (MAR) | 22:41 |
| 2010 | Sara Moreira (POR) | 16:29 | Jessica Sparke (GBR) | 16:41 | Joanne Harvey (GBR) | 16:48 |
| 2012 | Ancuța Bobocel (ROM) | 15:48 | Carla Salomé Rocha (POR) | 15:54 | Roxana Bârcă (ROM) | 15:56 |
| 2014 | Winnie Nanyondo (UGA) | 20:334 | Dorcus Ajok (UGA) | 21:02 | Prim Twikiriza (UGA) | 21:07 |
| 2016 | Sevilay Eytemis (TUR) | 21:57 | Moeno Shimizu (JPN) | 22:00 | Maki Izumida (JPN) | 22:01 |
| 2018 | Catarina Granz (GER) | 34:53 | Rika Kaseda (JPN) | 34:58 | Soukaina Atanane (MAR) | 35:13 |
| 2022 | Izzy Fry (GBR) | 31:53 | Saskia Millard (GBR) | 32:01 | Yayla Günen (TUR) | 32:14 |

### Women's team

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 1976 | Great Britain | 9 | Switzerland | 25 | Belgium | 32 |
| 1978 | Great Britain | 9 | West Germany | 13 | Belgium | 31 |
| 1980 | Great Britain | 7 | West Germany | 27 | Ireland | 28 |
| 1982 | Soviet Union | 6 | West Germany | 23 | Spain | 33 |
| 1984 | Spain | 15 | Great Britain | 16 | West Germany | 23 |
| 1986 | Great Britain | 22 | Yugoslavia | 22 | Soviet Union | 32 |
| 1988 | Romania | 9 | Spain | 24 | West Germany | 36 |
| 1990 | Spain | 12 | West Germany | 25 | Poland | 35 |
| 1992 | Great Britain | 30 | Spain | 36 | Romania | 41 |
| 1994 | Great Britain | 18 | France | 31 | Romania | 35 |
| 1996 | Spain | 19 | Romania | 26 | Italy | 29 |
| 1998 | Great Britain | 13 | South Africa | 33 | Spain | 38 |
| 2000 | South Africa | 18 | Romania | 19 | Spain | 46 |
| 2002 | South Africa | 23 | Spain | 25 | Romania | 29 |
| 2004 | Great Britain | 14 | Spain | 18 | Finland | 37 |
| 2006 | Great Britain | 9 | Algeria | 29 | Italy | 30 |
| 2008 | Great Britain | 20 | Australia | 30 | Ireland | 33 |
| 2010 | Great Britain | 13 | Australia | 26 | Canada | 33 |
| 2012 | Japan | 21 | Romania | 23 | Poland | 45 |
| 2014 | Uganda | 6 | Japan | 15 | Canada | 38 |
| 2016 | Japan | 13 | Great Britain | 22 | Italy | 41 |
| 2018 | Japan | 17 | Germany | 49 | Italy | 51 |
| 2022 | Great Britain (GBR) | 8 | Germany (GER) | 25 | Spain (ESP) | 33 |

### Mixed relay

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 2022 (12K) | France (FRA) Alexa Lemitre Benoit Campion Bérénice Fulchiron Quentin Malriq | 35:02 | Great Britain (GBR) Alexandra Millard Edward Potter Sabrina Sinha Justin Davies | 35:23 | Spain (ESP) Marta Azpiazu Pablo Sánchez Mireya Lahoz Alejandro Sánchez | 35:31 |