Canadian team announced for 2026 World XC Championships
National cross-country champions Moh Ahmed and Ceili McCabe will lead the Canadian contingent in Florida in January
Graham Baird Photography
On Tuesday, Athletics Canada unveiled the 28 athletes who will represent the country at the 2026 World Cross-Country Championships. Selection was based on results from the 2025 Canadian Cross-Country Championships (ACXC) in London, Ont., where, over the weekend, the nation’s best fought for prestigious national crowns and a place on Team Canada.
The World Championships race is set for Jan. 10 at Tallahassee, Fla.’s Apalachee Regional Park, returning to the U.S. for the first time in more than three decades. The last edition of the event took place in Bathurst, Australia, in 2023.
To be eligible for selection, Canadian athletes must have finished inside the top 10 in their respective divisions at ACXC, with Athletics Canada naming up to six runners per team.
Leading the way for Canada are senior 10K champions Ceili McCabe and Moh Ahmed. On Saturday, McCabe claimed her second national XC title in three years with a dominant wire-to-wire win. She stopped the clock at 32:57 to win by nearly a minute. Ahmed, making his first appearance at Canadian XC nationals in 13 years, captured his first-ever senior XC crown.
Women’s open 10K
Ceili McCabe (Vancouver)
Chloe Thomas (Dundas, Ont.)
Florence Caron (La Malbaie, Que.)
Grace Fetherstonhaugh (New Westminster, B.C.)
Makenna Fitzgerald (Kamloops, B.C.)
Glynis Sim (Salmon Arm, B.C.)
Men’s open 10K
Moh Ahmed (St. Catharines, Ont.)
Xavier Perras-Phaneuf (LaSalle, Que.)
Santiago Gaitan (Welland, Ont.)
Matt Talbot (Ailsa Craig, Ont.)
Evan Burke (Kearney, Ont.)
Philippe Morneau-Cartier (La Pocatière, Que.)
8K mixed relay
Foster Malleck (Kitchener, Ont.)
Jean-Simon Desgagnés (Saint-Ferréol-Les-Neiges, Que.)
Kate Current (Cobourg, Ont.)
Regan Yee (Vancouver)
Women’s U20 6K
Adrianna Buitelaar (Abbotsford, B.C.)
Kayley Torrie (Cochrane, Alta.)
Eleanor Voykin (Toronto)
Zoe Mosher (Pleasantville, N.S.)
Athena Andrecyk (Kingston, Ont.)
Riley Innes (Newmarket, Ont.)
Men’s U20 6K
Chase Capes (Sarnia, Ont.)
Brody Clark (Milton, Ont.)
William Scharf (Toronto)
Oliver Crowe (St. Catharines, Ont.)
Saul Taler (Ottawa)
Eli Torrie (Cochrane, Alta.)
See here for the full team announcement.
