Innes FitzGerald
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (2006-04-06) 6 April 2006
Sport
SportAthletics
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)1500m: 4.15:04 (Watford, 2022)
3000m: 8.59:67 (Belfast, 2022)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
European Cross Country Championships
Gold medal – first place2023 BrusselsU20 race
Gold medal – first place2023 BrusselsU20 team

Innes FitzGerald (born 6 April 2006) is a British track and field athlete and cross country runner. She is the 2023 European Cross Country U20 champion.[1]

Early life

FitzGerald hails from Beer, Devon and attended Axe Valley Academy.[2] Her parents own a smallholding on which FitzGerald has worked.[3]

Career

2022

She runs for the Exeter Harriers and is trained by Gavin Pavey. She won the Mini London Marathon in October 2022.[4] FitzGerald set a new under-17 record for 3,000 metres, and in December 2022 finished fourth in the under-20s European Cross Country Championships in Turin, competing as a seventeen year-old.[5] To avoid flying to the competition, FitzGerald had taken a 20-hour coach and train journey from Exeter to Italy.[6]

2023

In January 2023, FitzGerald turned down the opportunity to compete at the 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia because of concerns she holds about contributing to climate change.[7] In a letter to UK Athletics she wrote that “The reality of the travel fills me with deep concern”, adding that "I was just nine when the COP21 Paris Climate agreement was signed. Now, eight years on, and global emissions have been steadily increasing, sending us on a path to climate catastrophe. Turning this around is only possible through transformational change from collective and personal action."[8][9]

In March 2023, FitzGerald won the English Schools cross country title.[10] She won the senior girls 3000m at the English Schools Championship in July 2023, clocking 9:16.14. In 2023, she also defended her Mini London Marathon title and won the England under-20 3000m title.[11]

She ran a new personal best at the BMC Watford Gold Standard meet on the 12 July 2023 when she clocked 4:15.04 for the 1500m.[12]

In October 2023, Fitzgerald was announced as the winner of the BBC Green Sports Awards 'Young Athlete of the Year' for her refusal to fly to the World Cross Country Championships taking place in Australia. Selected for the 2023 European Cross Country Championships in Brussels in December 2023, she won the women's U20 race and also claimed gold as part of the British squad in the team race.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ "Innes FitzGerald". World Athletics. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Evans, Francesca (17 July 2022). "East Devon runner Innes continues to impress with biggest victory of her young career". Axminster.nub. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Lytton, Charlotte (28 January 2023). "Innes FitzGerald: 'Greta Thunberg of sport' wants (green) gold at Olympics". The Times. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Henderson, Jason (April 22, 2023). "Innes FitzGerald impresses again at Mini London Marathon". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  5. ↑ Lawton, Matt (25 January 2023). "Innes FitzGerald, 'Greta Thunberg of sport', says no to Australia world title run". The Times. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Teen runner Innes FitzGerald turns down World Championship in Australia due to climate change". ITV.com. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Collins, Riyah (1 February 2023). "Innes FitzGerald: The teen turning down championships for the planet". BBC News. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  8. ↑ Mackay, Duncan (20 January 2023). "British runner spurns chance to compete at World Cross Country Championships in Australia after refusal to fly". Insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  9. ↑ Rawlinson, Kevin (26 January 2023). "Runner says no to competing for GB in Australia over flight climate concerns". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  10. ↑ Duff, Martin (March 19, 2023). "Innes FitzGerald enjoys runaway win at English Schools Champs". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  11. ↑ Adams, Tim (July 3, 2023). "Five takeaways from the English Schools Champs". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  12. ↑ Adams, Tim (July 13, 2023). "Phoebe Gill takes apart UK U17 1500m record". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "40-STRONG GB & NI TEAM BRUSSELS BOUND FOR THE 2023 EUROPEAN CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS". British Athletics. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "European Cross Country Championships: Great Britain's Abbie Donnelly claims bronze". BBC Sport. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
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