___________________

 ATHLETICS 

The 2024 World Athletics Cross Country Championships due in Serbia's capital Begrade are exactly three weeks away.

And when the over 500 athletes — including Ugandans — descend on the city's Friendship Park on March 30, the podium will be the main target for the competitors in the individual, relay and team events.

Now we know what the coveted medals they will be battling for look like after the organizers unveiled the medals for the upcoming global athletics competition.

'A story of training'

In a statement on Friday, World Athletics said the medals were commissioned by the Serbian Athletics Federation.

“These medals are not just a piece of metal but a symbol of effort, passion and dedication of every competitor who competes at these championships,” Slobodan Brankovic, president of the local organising committee, is quoted as saying.

“Each of them carries with it a story of training and determination that went into achieving such a medal."

The Serbian Athletics Federation said that just like in the past, they will strive for uniqueness and perfection "in all elements of the organization" of the upcoming event.

The medals for this edition feature the event logo.

The logo is an inspiration of the confluence of the rivers Sava and Danube in Belgrade.

It incorporates designs of carpets that were created in Serbia, representing the fabric of the past, present and future.

“On Monday, we will start with our championship preparations in Friendship Park, and in seven days you won't recognise this area,” said Brankovic.

The one-day competition will be held in the Park of Friendship, next to the Danube River in the heart of Belgrade, which was also the site of the 2013 European Championships. 

This will be the European city's second World Athletics Series event to host in two years, after the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships.

Uganda's Halimah Nakaayi (pictured below) bagged Uganda's only medal at that three-day indoors competition two years ago when she took 800m bronze inside a packed Stark Arena.

The hosting duties for the 2024 World Cross Country Championships had been initially awarded to the Croatian cities of Medulin and Pula.

But months to the scheduled event, they were deemed not ready to host the competition.

In mid-September last year, World Athletics announced that a new European host was being sought, adding at the time that it was "in advanced negotiations with an alternative host in Europe".

The competition had originally be set to happen on February 10 this year until the world athletics governing body felt that preparations had not "advanced sufficiently" for Medulin and Pula to host it.

'Safe pair of hands'

“Belgrade is establishing itself as a reliable host of world class competitions," World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said last year when the city was announced as the host of the 2024 edition.

"Following a memorable 2022 World Indoor Championships, we are confident that the organization of our 2024 World Cross Country Championships is in a safe pair of hands.” 

Belgrade has hosted a number of major track and field events over the years, including the 1962 European Championships, 2013 European Cross Country Championships, 2017 European Indoor Championships and the 2017 Balkan Championships. 

Jacob Kiplimo (R) and Joshua Cheptegei finished first and third, respectively, in the senior men category at the last edition in Barthurst, Australia

The World Athletics Cross Country Championships have junior (men and women), senior (men and women) and mixed relay events.

Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo is the defending champion in the senior men category.

At the previous edition in the Australian city of Bathurst, Kiplimo's compatriot Joshua Cheptegei took silver. 

Uganda also took two senior team bronze medals.

Kenya topped the medal table with 10 medals (including six gold), Ethiopia were second — also on 10 medals — but with two gold while Uganda were third on four medals.

The US took two medals and hosts Australia bagged one medal.