The news is out. World Athletics just announced that Sporting Clube de Braga is the new winner of the 2024 European Cross Country Champions Cup. This comes after the Turkish team, Batman Petrol, got disqualified.
The reason? One of their athletes, Sultan Haydar, got suspended for two years. She refused to take a surprise doping test on January 31. That means all her results after that date are canceled. Including her second-place finish at the European Cross Country Champions Cup in Albufeira on February 21.
This disqualification is a big deal. It bumps the Sporting Clube de Braga team – made up of Asmarech Yeshaneh, Mariana Machado, Vanessa Carvalho, and Solange Jesus – up to first place. They now have two gold medals: one from this year and one from 2025. This win makes them two-time European champions. The club now has nine titles under its belt: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2024, and 2025.
Sultan Haydar, 37, is a record holder in the marathon in Turkey. Her results in the Doha Marathon (8th) and the Prague Half-Marathon (5th) are also canceled.