| 1961 International Cross Country Championships | |
| Organisers: | ICCU |
| Edition: | 48th |
| Date: | March 26 |
| Host City: | Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France  |
| Nations Participating: | 10 |
| Athletes Participating: | 109 |
| Races: | 2 |
| Distances: | 8.9 mi (14.5 km) men / 4.7 mi (7.5 km) junior men |
| Previous: | 1960 Hamilton |
| Next: | 1962 Sheffield |
The 1961 International Cross Country Championships was held in Nantes, France, on March 26, 1961. This year, an official junior championship (for athletes under 21 on the day of the race) was introduced. A report on the men's event was given in the Glasgow Herald.
Complete results for men, junior men, medallists, and the results of British athletes were published.
| Individual | |||||||
| Men 8.9 mi (14.3 km) | Basil Heatley | 45:22.2 |  | 45:46 | Martin Hyman | 45:56.4 | |
| Junior Men 4.7 mi (7.5 km) | Colin Robinson | 26:20.4 | Alan Simpson | 26:24.4 | Mariano Haro | 26:25.2 | |
| Team | |||||||
| Men |  | 54 | 71 | | 119 | ||
| Junior Men | 11 | | 18 | | 39 |
| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45:22.2 | ||||
| | 45:46 | |||
| 45:56.4 | ||||
| 4 | Henri Clerckx | | 46:03.6 | |
| 5 | | 46:06.8 | ||
| 6 | Hedwig Leenaert | | 46:21 | |
| 7 | | 46:23 | ||
| 8 | 46:27 | |||
| 9 | | 46:39 | ||
| 10 | Mohamed Saïd |  | 46:46 | |
| 11 | | 46:54 | ||
| 12 | Jean Vaillant | | 46:57 | |
| 13 | Louis van Praet | | 46:58 | |
| 14 | Bakir Benaissa | | 47:05 | |
| 15 | | 47:07 | ||
| 16 | Ted Matley | 47:09 | ||
| 17 | Manuel Alonso | | 47:14 | |
| 18 | Graham Everett | 47:24 | ||
| 19 | Denis Jouret | | 47:31 | |
| 20 | Peter Wilkinson | 47:34 | ||
| 21 | Joe Connolly | 47:41 | ||
| 22 | Pierre de Pauw | | 47:43 | |
| 23 | Mike Turner | 47:44 | ||
| 24 | | 47:46 | ||
| 25 | Georg Steiner | 47:51 | ||
| 26 | Lahcen Ben Allal | | 47:56 | |
| 27 | | 48:08 | ||
| 28 | Andy Brown | 48:12 | ||
| 29 | Alfonso Vidal | | 48:16 | |
| 30 | Pat Killeen | 48:18 | ||
| 31 | Maurice Chiclet | | 48:19 | |
| 32 | Hammadi Ben Mohamed | | 48:20 | |
| 33 | 48:23 | |||
| 34 | Oskar Leupi | 48:24 | ||
| 35 | Frank Seal | 48:25 | ||
| 36 | | 48:28 | ||
| 37 | Hamid | | 48:28 | |
| 38 | Hamida Addéche | | 48:33 | |
| 39 | Yves Jeannotat | 48:34 | ||
| 40 | Hans Rüdisühli | 48:39 | ||
| 41 | | 48:42 | ||
| 42 | Gordon Eadie | 48:44 | ||
| 43 | Moha Ouali | | 48:46 | |
| 44 | David Richards Jun. | 48:47 | ||
| 45 | 48:49 | |||
| 46 | 49:03 | |||
| 47 | Luis García | | 49:06 | |
| 48 | Frans van der Hoeven | | 49:10 | |
| 49 | Mohamed Ben Hassan | | 49:10 | |
| 50 | Norman Horrell | 49:15 | ||
| 51 | Adrian Jackson | 49:18 | ||
| 52 | 49:20 | |||
| 53 | Ron Franklin | 49:31 | ||
| 54 | | 49:39 | ||
| 55 | Niklaus Näf | 49:42 | ||
| 56 | Mohamed Lahcen | | 49:45 | |
| 57 | William Heiberg | 49:46 | ||
| 58 | Stan Taylor | 49:48 | ||
| 59 | Alfons Sidler | 49:48 | ||
| 60 | Willie Dunne | 50:06 | ||
| 61 | José María Alday | | 50:11 | |
| 62 | Benny O'Sullivan | 50:17 | ||
| 63 | Harry Wilson | 50:22 | ||
| 64 | Francois Fatton | 50:30 | ||
| 65 | Mick Connolly | 50:31 | ||
| 66 | Brian Jeffs | 50:31 | ||
| 67 | Aurelio Aguirre | | 51:06 | |
| 68 | Hugo Eisenring | 51:13 | ||
| 69 | Gerry North | 51:21 | ||
| 70 | Roger Harrison-Jones | 50:43 | ||
| 71 | Roy Profitt | 51:51 | ||
| 72 | Paul Knill | 52:08 | ||
| 73 | Tommy Dunne | 52:43 | ||
| 74 | Colm Holohan | 52:53 | ||
| 75 | Ian Harris | 53:07 | ||
| — | Tomas Ballestin | | DNF | |
| — | | DNF | ||
| — | Francis Duleau | | DNF | |
| — | Jim Douglas | DNF |
| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26:20.4 | ||||
| 26:24.4 | ||||
| | 26:25.2 | |||
| 4 | | 26:33.8 | ||
| 5 | Luc van der Smissen | | 26:43 | |
| 6 | Raymond Crauwels | | 26:47 | |
| 7 | Jean-Pierre Deraemaeker | | 27:01 | |
| 8 | Thomas Pugh | 27:13 | ||
| 9 | Joseph Smolders | | 27:28 | |
| 10 | Amara Gahlouzi |  | 27:32 | |
| 11 | Amel Leborgne | | 27:35 | |
| 12 | André de Hertoghe | | 27:42 | |
| 13 | Hadj Ben Sitel | | 27:44 | |
| 14 | Abdelhamid Yazidi | | 27:55 | |
| 15 | Anthony Platt | 27:59 | ||
| 16 | José María Sarriegui | | 28:14 | |
| 17 | Mohamed Frigui | | 28:20 | |
| 18 | Armand Trichet | | 28:21 | |
| 19 | | 28:24 | ||
| 20 | José María Alberdi | | 28:25 | |
| 21 | | 28:40 | ||
| 22 | Paulino García | | 28:45 | |
| 23 | Ben Nouceur | | 28:47 | |
| 24 | Ahmed Oukbouch | | 29:00 | |
| 25 | Garnier | | 29:20 | |
| 26 | Geoffrey Wood | 29:26 | ||
| 27 | Lennen | | 29:36 | |
| 28 | A. Gerdane | | 30:17 | |
| 29 | Francisco Vela | | 30:28 | |
| 30 | Mahmoud Ben Rabah | | 30:29 |
| Rank | Country | Team | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | 54 | |||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | Basil Heatley Martin Hyman Roy Fowler Ted Matley Peter Wilkinson Mike Turner | 71 | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | 119 | |||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | Mohamed Saïd Bakir Benaissa Lahcen Ben Allal Hammadi Ben Mohamed Hamid Moha Ouali | 162 | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | 176 | |||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 188 | |||
| 7 | align=left | align=left | Georg Steiner Oskar Leupi Yves Jeannotat Hans Rüdisühli Niklaus Näf Alfons Sidler | 252 | ||
| 8 | align=left | align=left | Pat Killeen Bertie Messitt Gerald McIntyre Willie Dunne Benny O'Sullivan Mick Connolly | 314 | ||
| 9 | align=left | align=left | David Richards Jun. Norman Horrell Ron Franklin Harry Wilson Brian Jeffs Roger Harrison-Jones | 346 |
| Rank | Country | Team | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | align=left | Colin Robinson Alan Simpson Thomas Pugh | 11 | ||
| 2 | align=left | align=left | Luc van der Smissen Raymond Crauwels Jean-Pierre Deraemaeker | 18 | ||
| 3 | align=left | align=left | Mariano Haro José María Sarriegui José María Alberdi | 39 | ||
| 4 | align=left | align=left | Abdeslem Bouchta Hadj Ben Sitel Ben Nouceur | 40 | ||
| 5 | align=left | align=left | Amara Gahlouzi Abdelhamid Yazidi Mohamed Frigui | 41 | ||
| 6 | align=left | align=left | 50 |
An unofficial count yields the participation of 109 athletes from 10 countries.
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