Ellis Cross

Ellis Cross
Personal information
NationalityBritish (English)
Born (1996-09-22) 22 September 1996
Sport
SportAthletics
Events
Long distance running, Cross country running
ClubAFD

Ellis Cross (born 22 September 1996) is a British long-distance runner. He was British champion over 10000 metres in 2022, and runner-up at the British 10000 metres championships in 2025.[1]

Early life

He comes from Polesworth, Warwickshire, just outside of Tamworth, Staffordshire.[2] His first athletics club was Tamworth AC. He was coached by Simon King and from the age of 18 years-old by Mick Woods He was a member of the youth academy of Nottingham Forest but gave up football as a teenager to focus on athletics. He studied at St Mary's University, Twickenham, graduating in 2019.[3][4][5]

Career

As a junior runner, he was a two-time English national cross country winner at the under-20 level in 2016 and 2017. He was a two-time British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) champion over 5000 metres. He finished fifth in the 10,000m at the 2017 European Athletics U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.[6][3]

In April 2021, in Ardingly, Sussex, he won the men's 5 km road race in his first listed race over the distance in a time of 14:05.[7]

Cross later became a member of Aldershot, Farnham & District athletics club. Cross made headlines when he defeated Olympic champion Mo Farah at the Vitality London 10,000 in May 2022, running a personal best time of 28:40. This came despite the fact he was a club runner who had to pay a £37 entry fee to race, and the day before he had been working in the athletics equipment shop Up & Running in Surbiton. The £2,000 prize for winning the event was the first individual prize he had collected in his career.[8][9][6][10][11] Later that year, he was selected for the senior men’s British team for the 2022 European Cross Country Championships in Turin.[12]

In April 2025, he was the top British finisher placing twelfth in a time of 28:30 in the 10 km race at the 2025 European Running Championships in Belgium.[13] He was runner-up at the British 10,000 metres championships in June 2025 in Birmingham, running 28:14.47.[14] Cross ran a 2:10:09 personal best at the Seville Marathon in February 2026.[15] He was third in the British Road 10 km Championships at the Great Manchester Run in England on 31 May 2026, running 28:45.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Ellis Cross". World Athletics. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  2. ↑ "England call-up for Polesworth running star Ellis Cross". Birmingham Mail. 16 July 2026. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 Henderson, Jason (2 May 2022). "ELLIS CROSS TAKES DOWN MO FARAH AT VITALITY LONDON 10,000". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "ELLIS CROSS: "I TOOK NO INSULT IN BEING CALLED A CLUB RUNNER"". Athletics Weekly. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  5. ↑ ""The best part of funding is student finance" – Ellis Cross on stepping up to the seniors". viewsfromtheconcourse.com. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  6. 1 2 Merrell, Chloe (2 May 2022). "Meet Ellis Cross, the club runner who bested Mo Farah". Olympics.com. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  7. ↑ Smythe, Steve (6 April 2021). "WINS FOR LAWRENCE OKOYE AND ELLIS CROSS - WEEKLY ROUND-UP". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  8. ↑ "London Vitality 10,000: Mo Farah beaten by Ellis Cross as Eilish McColgan sets Scottish mark". BBC Sport. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  9. ↑ Ingle, Sean (2 May 2022). "Mo Farah admits elite track career may be over after losing to club runner". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  10. ↑ "Club runner Ellis Cross beats Mo Farah to the win the London Vitality 10,000". Runners World. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  11. ↑ Bloom, Ben (4 May 2022). "Ellis Cross interview: 'I'm a normal guy who just beat four-time Olympic legend Mo Farah'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  12. ↑ "ELLIS CROSS CALLED-UP TO GB&NI TEAM FOR THE EUROPEAN CROSS COUNTRY CHAMP". British Athletics. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "JAMES SEALS TOP FIVE FINISH IN EUROPEAN RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS MARATHON". British Athletics. 13 April 2025. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  14. ↑ Collett, Jasmine (14 June 2025). "EMILE CAIRESS AND MEGAN KEITH CLAIM BRITISH 10,000M TITLES". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Zurich Maratón Sevilla". World Athletics. 15 February 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "SELEMON BAREGA AND KLARA LUKAN WIN GREAT MANCHESTER RUN TITLES". Athletics Weekly. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
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