Results from the 2022 Virtus World Cross Country Championships in San Diego
Congratulations to Virtus Teams and runners who competed in the two-day Virtus World Cross Country Championships in San Diego November 19-20, 2022.
Opening Ceremony was held outside at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, where the Virtus Teams all stayed and trained throughout the week-long event. Along with the ceremonial lighting of the torch the athletes received encouragement from three time Team USA Olympic Triple Jumper Willie Banks , who serves as an elected member of the World Athletics Council.
The International and US teams were welcomed by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and enjoyed a tour of the Air & Space Museum during the week.
The event took place in Mission Bay Park on a renowned Cross Country course, and was co-hosted by US Virtus Member, Athletes Without Limits, and Tracy Sundlan, Founder of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series and the event management group Everything Running, with support from USATF San Diego and the USATF Para Athlete Committee.
Special thanks to sponsor Amazon, with additional support from Champion System Clothing, Zelios, Don Giaquinto Consulting and the International Protocol Institute of California.
Events:
DAY 1: November 19th Short Course
- Mens 4K Short Course — Virtus II1 /Paralympic T20 Class
- Mens 4K Short Course — Virtus II1 Team
- Mens 4K Short Course — Virtus II2
- Women’s 2k Short Course — Virtus II1/Paralympic T20 Class
DAY 2: November 20th Long Course:
- Mens 8k Long Course Day 2 — Virtus II1 /Paralympic T20 Class
- Mens 8k Long Course Day 2 — Virtus II1 Team
- Mens 6k Long Course Day 2 — Virtus II2
- Women’s 6k Long Course — Virtus II1/Paralympic T20 Class
Results:
Click here to view the OFFICIAL RESULTS
USA dominate medals at Cross Country in San Diego 2022
22 November 2022
After two days of rigorous competition, the 2022 Virtus World Cross Country Championship concluded on Sunday in San Diego, USA. Both long-course and short-course races were offered to the athletes to compete in. Paralympians like Michael Brannigan (USA), Gael Geofrey (France) and Breanna Clark (USA) made their way to the championship. The championship turned out to be of huge success for the host nation, claiming five out of the eight golds from the championship and topping the medal tally.
In the II1 category, Paralympian Michael Brannigan (USA) became the host nation’s superstar by winning three golds in 8K long course, 4k short course and overall Men’s team event alongside team mates Adam Angelone, Benjamin Bluemond, Tyler Wingington, Tae Sebastian, Kenneth Noguchi and Ishaan Ramanathan Iyer.
Although Spain came second in the Men’s 4K teams event, the team defeated the host nation in the long course 8K event adding gold to their medal tally. The team consist of Adrián Parras Álvarez, Jose Martínez Moron, Raúl Martínez Garri, Ibai Magdaleno Pala and Jesús Fernández Pére.
Gael Geoffrey from France, who competed in 1500m at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, finished third in both the long course and short course. He was also part of the French team who won the bronze in the Men’s team event.
In the Women’s short course race, Kaitlyn Bounds from the host nation won the gold (7:34sec) by defeating Franziska Dziallas from Germany (7:51sec). Sweden’s Aleksandra Gustaffson settled for the bronze. The podium finish was repeated by the American, German and Swedish runners in the exact same sequence in the long course.
Two-time Paralympic Champion in 400m Breanna Clark who tried her luck in Cross country for the first time finished fourth in the short course race.
In the Men’s II2 category, Jason David from France became the first athlete ever to participate in a cross-country competition. He was the sole participant in both short and long-course events in the men’s category in II2.
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Athletes Without Limits (the US Member of Virtus) helps athletes with intellectual impairment (including Autism, Down Syndrome and Intellectual Disability) compete at their highest level in mainstream and Paralympic sports. Our inclusive DC Rowing program also partners with disabled Veteran Leaders.
Virtus, the International federation for athletes with intellectual impairment and a founding member of the International Paralypmic Committee (IPC), provides high-performance opportunities for athletes in 10+ sports. Virtus member countries share the belief that athletes with intellectual impairment across the world should have the should have the opportunity to achieve excellence in their sport.
