The SPAR European Cross Country Championships took place on Sunday, 12th December 2021 at the Sport Ireland Campus in Fingal-Dublin, welcoming over 8,000 spectators to the purpose built course. The 2021 edition of these Championships marked the second occasion that the event has taken place in Dublin, following on from a hugely successful hosting in 2009. In a highly competitive day, the home crowd cheered on Ireland’s Darragh McElhinney who took home silver in the Men’s Under-23 event as well as the Under-20 men’s team who took silver in their event. The crowd were not disappointed with Olympic 1500m Champion, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, living up to expectations in claiming his first European senior Cross Country title, followed by further success for Norway with Karoline Bjerkeli taking gold in the senior women’s race.

Colin Donnelly, SPAR Sales Director said, “We were honoured to be the principal sponsor of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Fingal-Dublin this year. The performances by all athletes were incredible to watch on the day, and we’re very proud of the performances of Team Ireland who made a number of appearances at medal ceremonies throughout the day. The future of Irish Athletics is very strong and from a SPAR perspective, we are really looking forward to following and supporting Team Ireland on the international stage over the coming years”. The annual SPAR sponsored event is due to take place in Turin, Italy in 2022.