Australian marathon record holder Haftu Strintzos and City2Surf winner Holly Campbell are now national championships following victories at the Australian Cross Country Championships in challenging conditions in Ballarat.
Running on a rain drenched course, with several segments turned to a quagmire, Strintzos covered the 10km course in 32 minutes, 14 seconds, while Campbell ran 38 minutes, 18 seconds.
The races played out differently, with Strintzos only breaking away for victory in the final kilometre, while Campbell ran solo for the second half of her race.
After the first and second 2km laps saw Matthew Ramsden (eventually 5th) and Luke Hince leading the running in the men’s race, it was Strintzos and last year’s junior champion, Yohanes Asmare, who broke away from Hince, with Ed Marks in fourth. Marks would make chase passing Hince but it remained Strintzos and Asmare at the head of the field until the final kilometre, where Strintzos’s strength prevailed for a 6 second victory.
Asmare, who is Ethiopian born was second across the line but ineligible for the medal, with Marks taking silver in 32:23, with Hince in bronze four seconds behind.
“My goal in this race was to race hard, and I wanted to get the national title, because I don’t have a senior cross country national title,” he said.
“That was the goal, and I ticked off both of those.
“Today was a good day for me, I’m very happy about it.”
Strintzos, an experienced cross country runner from his collegiate days in the NCAA, said the tough conditions worked in his favour.
“This was a different kind of race,” he said.
“I don’t think it suited the guys that race on the track, but luckily for me I have a cross-country background, so it worked out well.”
Victoria – which Asmare was eligible to run in the team’s event, while Marks was not – took out the team’s event with 15 points for their first four scorers (Strintzos, Asmare, Logan Janetzki and Liam Cashin), ahead of NSW with 34 points and South Australia with 46.
Campbell claims women’s title
For Campbell there was no external pressure in the final kilometres, but the challenging condition still required focus from the 30-year-old as she ran to a 27 second victory from Tasmania’s Holly Smee. 2:00/4:06 800m/1500m runner Jaylah Hancock-Cameron was third a further 26 seconds behind.
“The last lap I was kind of just focusing on staying on my feet, because I thought if I could stay on my feet, there was probably a good chance I could get there for a win,” Campbell said of the tough cross country course.
“No one can prepare for these kinds of conditions. I’m really happy to just get it done.”
NSW took the team title with 16 points thanks to Campbell, Hancock-Cameron, Olivia Sivilis and Bridget Lunn, from Victoria (23) and Queensland (39).
World Junior reps take line honours
World junior representatives Lucas Chis and Milla Roberts took out the U20 events just a fortnight after contesting the 5000m and 1500m respectively in Eugene, USA.
Chis was a class above in the men’s 8km event, fluently striding away int eh second half of the race for a 17 second victory from Harry Boyns in 27:48, with Brayden Noonan third.
For Roberts it was a close race with last year’s winner, Isabella Valinoti, for most of the race before using her superior leg speed for a 5 second victory in 23:47. New Zealand visitor Denika Clooney was third across the line in 24:29, with New South Wales’s Olivia O’Kelly fifth across the line, but bronze medallist in the Australian championship with a 24:49 run.
Colman and Marshall win Para titles
Annabelle Colman was the first across the line in the Para women’s 3km in 12:49 and also claimed gold in the event, which was judged by a points table grading the different para classes competing in the event.
In the men’s Reece Langdon was first across the line in 10:49, but it was Cameron Marshall’s 11:02 which took gold.
7 athletes defend titles in underage races
The 2025 running of the event was in much different conditions: a bright day, and a different course, with 2km and 3km loops, compared to the 1km and 2km loops this year. That didn’t perturb seven athletes, who defended their titles in the next age group up.
Finn Kane scored a 19 second victory in the U18 men’s 6km in 20:19, defending his U17 title. World junior representative Mia Gray took out the U18 women’s 4km in 15:57.
Queensland’s Sam Newsham took gold in the U17 6km in 21:18, with Piper Anderson defending her U16 crown in the U17 4km with a big 31 second victory in 15:39 run – the quickest of the day over the 4km distance.
In the U16 4km races it was Phillip Botonis from NSW who took out the boy’s event in 13:56, while Amelia Sheridan defended her U15 title with a 15:09 run.
Andrew Wiseman from Victoria took out the U15 boys’ event in 14:23, with teammate Heidi Kuppler winning the girls’ in 15:09.
In the U14 3km races Victoria’s James Hall defended his U13 title with a 10:40 run, while Viktorie Trebulova won the girls’ event in 11:45.
NSW’s Archie Herb defended his U12 title in the U13’s 3km, running away for a 25 second victory in 10:43. NSW teammate Azurri Felix won the girls’ race in 11:43.
Elle Down from Queensland handled the step up to the 3km, defending her U11 title in the U11s event with a 12:00 run. Fellow Queenslander Ryan Woolster also defended his U11 title, with a 11:11 run.
In the U11’s it was NSW duo Benji Mackay (7:22) and Isla Bates (8:05) who took line honours in the 2km events.
Over 40s runners Shane Grund (13:32) and Cassie Little (16:41) where the first athletes home in the Masters 4km.
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Victoria Park, Ballarat – Saturday 22 August 2026
