The Oeiras International Cross Country (''

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

: Crosse Internacional de Oeiras'') is an annual

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

competition that takes place in Oeiras,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Established in 2000, it is usually held in mid-November and is traditionally the first competition of the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

's cross country season, which culminates each year in the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

. The Oeiras Cross Country has featured athletes such as

Kenenisa Bekele Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha (; ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian Long-distance running, long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000 metres, 5,000-metre and 10000 metres, 10,000-metre from 2004 until 2020. He won the go ...

Paul Tergat Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long-distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...

Gebregziabher Gebremariam Gebregziabher Gebremariam (Amharic: ገብረግዚኣብሄር ገብረማርያም; born September 10, 1984, in Tigray) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner. He established himself at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, winning ...

and

Felix Limo Felix Limo (born 22 August 1980) is a Kenyan former long-distance runner, who specialized in the marathon. Limo held the 15 Kilometres road running world record from November 2001 to November 2010, where he lost the record to Leonard Komon. Limo ...

. The race can be of high importance to Portuguese athletes as the results are often used to decide the national squad for the

European Cross Country Championships The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year. The championship ...

. The men's race is 9 kilometres long, while the women's race is held over 5 km. In addition to the professional senior races, there are also a number amateur races, including shorter cross country races for children, as well as junior and veteran races. The course in Jamor is adjacent the

Estádio Nacional The Estádio Nacional ', also known as Jamor National Sports Centre (), is a football stadium. It is located in the civil parish of Algés, Linda-a-Velha e Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, in the municipality of Oeiras, in the southwestern part of Lisb ...

, the home ground of Portugal's national football team, and is the same circuit that was used for the

1997 European Cross Country Championships The 4th European Cross Country Championships were held at Oeiras in Portugal on 14 December 1997. Danish orienteer Carsten Jørgensen took the title in the men's competition and Joalsiae Llado won the women's race. Results Men individual 10km ...

and the men's 1999 European Club's Cross Country Cup in 1999.Campo a Través - Temporada 2002/2003

Real Federación Española de Atletismo The Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (Spanish: ''Real Federación Española de Atletismo'', RFEA), is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Spain. As of 2023, the federation has 1,323 registered clubs and 87,532 federated athletes. ...

(2003). Retrieved on 2009-11-22. It is a long and hilly course which features a green, scenic setting.Fernandes, António Manuel (2006-11-12)
Inzikuru and Kamais dominate IAAF XC in Oeiras

. Retrieved on 2009-11-22. The competition is organised by the same group which sets up the

Lisbon Half Marathon EDP Lisbon Half Marathon is an annual international half marathon competition which is contested every March in Lisbon, Portugal. It carries IAAF Gold Label Road Race status. The men's course record of 57:31 was set by Jacob Kiplimo in 2021, which ...

and the

Portugal Half Marathon Luso Portugal Half Marathon or Hyundai Meia Maratona de Portugal is an annual half marathon contested every October in Lisbon, Portugal. A new, faster course was established for the race in 2010 and 25 km record holder Mary Keitany duly resp ...

– the Maratona Clube de Portugal.Fernandes, António Manuel (2009-11-19
Gebremariam tops the field in Oeiras - preview

. Retrieved on 2009-11-22. The race has previously been broadcast live on television and attracts over 600 runners for the senior races annually.Costa, Paulo (2003-11-13)
Malot aims for third title in Oeiras

. Retrieved on 2009-11-22. The competition has been sponsored by a number of patrons over its short history, including:

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...

Sport Zone Sport Zone is a Portuguese chain of clothing and sports products stores, part of the ISRG group. Launched in 1997 by the Sonae group, this sports retail brand has 97 stores across Portugal. Background From 2007 to 2018, Sport Zone sponsored t ...

Banco Português de Negócios Banco Português de Negócios (, ), or simply BPN, was a Portuguese banking institution. It used to be a private bank, but was nationalized by the Portuguese Government in 2008 after a bad management and malpractice-related debt of 1.800 billion ...

Energias de Portugal EDP (formerly EDP - Energias de Portugal and Electricidade de Portugal) is a Portuguese electric utilities company, headquartered in Lisbon founded in 1976 through the merger of 14 nationalised electricity companies. History EDP was founded as ...

and Finibanco.An impressive Bekele smashes opponents

(2002-11-17). Retrieved on 2009-11-22.Costas, Paulo (2003-11-16)
Bekele wins but is closely shadowed by Kigen

. Retrieved on 2009-11-22.

Past senior race winners

Key:

References

External links

Official website
{{IAAF Cross Country Meetings Cross country running competitions Athletics competitions in Portugal Recurring sporting events established in 2000 2000 establishments in Portugal Cross country running in Portugal Annual sporting events in Portugal