The World Athletics Council has announced hosts for the 2024 and 2026 World Cross Country Championships ©Getty Images

The World Athletics Council has announced hosts for two forthcoming editions of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships.

The 2024 edition is due to take place in Medulin and Pula in Croatia, with the 2026 edition set to be held in Tallahassee, Florida.

Next year's edition has already been awarded to Bathurst in Australia, and is set to take place on February 18 2023, following two postponements in 2021 and 2022. 

Commenting on Medulin and Pula being named host of the 2024 edition, Croatian Athletics Federation President Ivan Vestic said: "The great honour was given to Croatia and the Croatian Athletics Federation by awarding us the hosting of the 2024 World Cross Country Championships.

"We are thankful to World Athletics for the trust shown and now it is up to us in the next 18 months to present Croatia, Istria, Medulin and Pula, and the World Cross Country Championships, at the highest possible level.

"In 2002, the best Europeans ran in Medulin and now, in 2024, the world's best athletes will run on the most beautiful cross track in the world."

The awarding of the 2024 and 2026 World Cross Country Championships came during a World Athletics Council meeting, on the eve of the World Athletics Championships, due to begin tomorrow at Hayward Field in Oregon ©Getty Images
The awarding of the 2024 and 2026 World Cross Country Championships came during a World Athletics Council meeting, on the eve of the World Athletics Championships, due to begin tomorrow at Hayward Field in Oregon ©Getty Images

The scheduled staging of the 46th World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee in 2026 adds to the roster of world-class track and field events being held in the United States and helps to enhance World Athletics' ambition to become a top five sport in the US by 2028, the year of the Los Angeles Olympic Games.

"Tallahassee, Florida, is beyond excited to have been chosen to host the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships," said Visit Tallahassee executive director Kerri Post.

"Over 10 years ago we set out to build a premier cross-country facility and create a new event standard to drive more athlete participation, attract more spectators and fans, and expand the visibility and viability of the sport of cross country.

"The World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee will rival the largest athletics competitions around the world and leave a lasting footprint on the sport."

The World Athletics Cross Country Championships is set to return to the US for the first time since 1992, when Boston hosted the event.

New York also staged the event in 1984.