The Almond Blossom Cross Country ( pt, Cross Internacional das Amendoeiras em Flor) is an annual international

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 earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

competition which takes place in

Albufeira Albufeira () is a city and seat of its own municipality in the district of Faro, in the southernmost Portuguese region of Algarve. The municipality population in 2021 was 44,158, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 28,645 in 2021 ...

, in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

region of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, in early March. It is one of the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for 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 Int ...

. It is held in co-operation with the Associação de Atletismo do Algarve (Algarve Athletics Association). The race gets its name from the white

blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as wel ...

which appears on the

almond trees The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

native to the

region during the spring.

History

The competition was first organised in 1977 through a joint partnership of the

Federação Portuguesa de Atletismo Federação Portuguesa de Atletismo (FPAtletismo), is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Portugal. History The Federação Portuguesa de Atletismo was founded on 5 November 1921, under the name "Federação Portuguesa de Sports Atlé ...

(Portuguese Athletics Federation), the District of Faro and Turismo de Portugal, with the aim of promoting both

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

in the region. The race relocated to

Vilamoura Vilamoura is a coastal resort in the Loulé municipality in Algarve, Portugal. It is one of the three corners of Algarve's Golden Triangle. Vilamoura comprises one of the largest single tourist complexes in Europe and with about 2,000 hectares ...

, another town nearby, in 1996 and the competition remained there until 2003. The 2004 edition was not held due to financial problems, causing the race's annual history to be interrupted for the first time. The Almond Blossom Cross returned to its original home in Albufeira in 2005 and has been held there annually ever since. Almond blossom aug 2007

The race takes place at the Açoteias Cross Country course; a looping track which is in length and comprises sections of both grass and sand.Albufeira plays host to European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country

European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...

(1 February 2008). Retrieved on 10 March 2010. The race distances have traditionally been for men and for women, but this was extended in the 2010 edition to and .Civai, Franco (9 March 2009)
Amendoeiras em Flor (Almond Blossom) 10 km and 6 km

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on 10 March 2010. The Almond Blossom Cross Country competition is international in its nature, attracting a large number of foreign athletes each year, but it is also a significant draw for Portugal's top domestic runners. Among the past winners in the men's race are Portuguese world medallists

Fernando Mamede Fernando Eugénio Pacheco Mamede, ComM (born 1 November 1951) is a former Portuguese athlete, a long distance running specialist. He was born in Beja. Together with Carlos Lopes, he is one of the best Portuguese male long distance runners ...

and

Paulo Guerra Paulo Alexandre Martins Guerra (born 21 August 1970 in Barrancos, Baixo Alentejo Province) is a Portuguese former long-distance runner who specialized in the 10,000 metres and cross-country running. After 2001 he mainly ran half marathons. Inte ...

, track world champion Charles Kamathi, and

Serhiy Lebid Serhiy Lebid or Serhii Lebid ( uk, Сергій Лебідь; born 15 July 1975 in Dnipropetrovsk) is a Ukrainian long-distance runner. Career He has won the European Cross Country championships on nine occasions, winning ...

– a multiple European champion. On the women's side, past winners include Olympic champions

Fernanda Ribeiro Maria Fernanda Moreira Ribeiro, GCIH (; born 23 June 1969), is a long-distance runner born in Penafiel, Portugal. The pinnacle of her career was at the 1996 Summer Olympics when she won the women's 10000 m gold medal, establishing a new Olympic ...

and

Gabriela Szabo Gabriela Szabo (, hu, Szabó Gabriella; born 14 November 1975) is a retired Romanian runner. She competed in the 1500 m and 5000 m events at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal. Szabo is a three-time world c ...

, the 1996 World Cross Country champion

Gete Wami Getenesh "Gete" Wami Degife (Amharic: ጌጤነሽ 'ጌጤ' ዋሚ ደግፌ born December 11, 1974 in Debre Berhan) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner who competed in cross country, track, and road events. Her brother, Mulugeta Wami ...

, and world champion in the 10,000 m

Berhane Adere Berhane Adere Debala ( Ge'ez: ብርሀኔ አደሬ born 21 July 1973 in Shewa) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in the 10,000 metres and the half marathon. She was world champion over 10,000 m in 2003 and world champio ...

. Only two Portuguese athletes have won at the World Cross Country Championships (

Carlos Lopes Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH (, born 18 February 1947) is a Portuguese former long-distance runner. He won the marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming Portugal's first Olympic gold medalist and setting an Olympic ...

and

Albertina Dias Maria Albertina da Costa Dias Pereira (born 26 April 1965 in Miragaia) is a former Portuguese long-distance runner. She competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in 1988. She was the first female Portuguese ...

) and both have been victorious in Albufeira: Lopes won the first ever Almond Blossom race in 1977 while Dias won the 1989 women's race. The Açoteias Cross Country course was also used to host the

European Clubs Cross Country Cup The European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition between the European running clubs that are the reigning national champions for their country. It is often abbreviated to the name ECCC Cross Country. It i ...

in 2008, as it had done a number of times in the 1980s and 1990s. During the Almond Blossom's time in Vilamoura, it served as the tester race for the

2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 18/19, 2000. The races were held at the Sporting Complex in Vilamoura, Portugal. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', in the Herald, and for the IAAF ...

, which was held on the same course a month later. The competition itself was selected in 2010 to host the Portuguese Cross Country Championships, in which Yousef El Kalai and

Ana Dulce Félix Ana Dulce Ferreira Félix (born 23 October 1982) is a Portuguese long distance runner who competes in track, cross country, and road running events. She ran the Olympic marathon in 2012 and 2016 and placed 21st and 16th, respectively.

took the honours in the men's and women's races, respectively. The national competition returned to the race in 2012 and

Manuel Damião Manuel Damião (born 4 July 1978) is a Portuguese middle- and long-distance runner. He represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He is a two-time silver medallist at the Ibero-American Championships in Athletics and participated in the ...

was the men's Portuguese victor, while Félix again won the women's title. A year later Damião became the first Portuguese man to win the Almond Blossom race itself since 1995 – the invited African contingent (including four-time winner Josphat Kiprono Menjo) did not arrive due to travel issues. The 2014 race again hosted the European Clubs event and Morocco's

Mohamed Moustaoui Mohamed Moustaoui (born 2 April 1985, in Khouribga) is a Moroccan middle distance runner who specializes in the 1500 metres. He was born in Khouribga. Competition record Personal bests Outdoors *800 metres - 1:45.44 (2009) *1500 metres - 3:31 ...

continued to break the Kenya dominance of the men's race.Fernandes, António Manuel (2014-02-02)
Moustaoui and Ayalew take the honours at Almond Blossom Cross Country
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-02-23.

Past senior race winners

Key:
Distances: ''(10 km for men and 6 km for women where not stated)''

Statistics

Winners by country

Multiple winners

References

External links

Algarve Athletics Association website2014 results
{{IAAF Cross Country Meetings Cross country running competitions Athletics competitions in Portugal Recurring sporting events established in 1977 Sport in Algarve Sport in Albufeira Cross country running in Portugal Annual sporting events in Portugal 1977 establishments in Portugal Spring (season) events in Portugal