2009 European Cross Country Championships
| 2009 European Cross Country Championships | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Organisers | EAA |
| Edition | 16th |
| Date | 13 December |
| Host city |
Dublin, Ireland 
|
| Location | Santry Demesne |
| Nations participating | 30 |
| Athletes participating | 323 |
| Races | 6 |
| Distances | 9997 m – Men 8018 m – Women 8018 m – U23 men 6039 m – U23 women 6039 m – Junior men 4039 m – Junior women |
| Official website | www.dublin2009.ie |
The 2009 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that was held on 13 December 2009 near Dublin city, Fingal in Ireland. Dublin was selected as the host city in 2007 and the event was the first time that a major European athletics championships took place in Ireland. The six men's and women's races in the championship programme took place in Santry Demense on a looped course with flat and grassy ground. The 16th edition of the European Cross Country Championships featured 323 athletes from 30 nations.
Alemayehu Bezabeh upset the defending champion (Serhiy Lebid) to win the men's senior race: it was his first medal at a major international competition and he was the first Spanish runner to win in the history of the championships. In the women's senior competition, Hayley Yelling was a surprise winner, having come out of her competitive retirement just weeks before the race. The much favoured Portuguese team (which included Jessica Augusto and Inês Monteiro) did not reach the individual podium but they took the gold in the team competition.
Noureddine Smaïl and Hassan Chahdi took gold and silver in the men's under-23 competition, leading the French to a team victory. Jeroen D'Hoedt was the winner of the men's junior race. Sultan Haydar won the women's under-23 race while Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal added to her junior honours with a gold in the women's junior race, becoming the first Norwegian gold medallist of the championships' history.
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