The World Athletics Cross Country Championships were held in Bathurst at Mount Panorama (Wahluu) on February 17, 18 and 19. The 2023 Bathurst World Cross Country Championships were the first World Athletics event to be hosted in Australia for 27 years.
The event welcomed the top distance runners in the world, from 68 countries, as the centrepiece of a global festival of running.
However it wasn’t just the elite athletes running. All runners – regardless of age or ability – were invited to be involved. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for our Nowra runners, and many others, to experience first hand what the worlds best distance runners experienced – the hills, the mud, the tight twisting turns, the narrow vineyard and that glorious World Championship feeling.
Two Nowra athletes contested the Masters World Championships event. Erich Moeller-Duhme was 2nd in the men’s 75 years+ 4kms race, crossing in 26.19 whilst Dean Bryce competed in the 6km race in the men’s 50-54 years category and was 28th male in 31.50.
Erich also partnered up with master’s runner Heather Powrie in the 2x2km 70-79 years mixed relay and took the gold medal in a combined time of 24.27.
Congratulations to our very brave and resilient runners who battled the heat and the challenging course at Bathurst!