The World University Cross Country Championship is also one of the oldest FISU championships hosted over the years, with a first edition staged in Lausanne, Switzerland back in 1978. This WUC always attracts many athletes from all continents.

The History of Cross Country in FISU

Between 1968 and 1976, five World University Cross-Country Championships were organised in Europe. The first of them was held in Lausanne, Switzerland. There, FISU gave a boost to the expansion of this sport. Already at the second edition in Coleraine, Great Britain, 90 contestants from 8 countries were in the line-up; whereas in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1982, there were 139 athletes from 23 countries. The figures have kept increasing from one edition to the other, but more important was the continual improvement in performance. In 1998, the World University Championship was hosted by Luton. Seeing that the venue was on the British Isles, the organisation of the cross-country championship was of special significance for FISU, in respect that foot race has its origins there. As it is no secret that FISU often brings to light great champions of the sports world, the World University Cross-Country Championships have already brought to the front rank such athletes as Romanian Ionescu and Ghican, Spanish Vaquero and Serano, along with Australian Moneghetti and Kenyan Muturi. In 1998, 24 national university teams participated in the event.