Teen runner Innes FitzGerald turns down World Championship in Australia due to climate change

Innes Fitzgerald at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Turin, Italy which she got to by train rather than plane. Credit: Getty Images

Aged just 16 years old, Innes FitzGerald is already streaking ahead with her cross country running career.

But it is the teen's trail-blazing attitude to the environment which is causing the biggest stir.

This week she refused her place to represent Great Britain in the World Cross Country Championships in Australia, because of the huge emissions released by flying to the other side of the world.

She said: "I would never be comfortable flying in the knowledge that people could be losing their livelihoods, homes and loved ones as a result".

The student from Devon penned a letter to British Athletics, saying 'the reality of the travel fills me with deep concern' and that her decision not to compete was in 'solidarity' with those on the 'frontline of climate breakdown'.

She said the decision was 'not easy' but she would feel worse for taking the flight - which on average takes 18 hours and 30 minutes from England to Australia.

This is not the first time Innes has taken a stand against flying.

Instead of travelling by air to the European Cross Country Championships in Turin on December, 11 2022, she opted for a 20-hour train journey from Exeter to Italy.

After the race she told Athletics Weekly: "Environmentally, I don't really want to fly. Obviously it's going to be an issue in the future but it's so environmentally damaging that I can't really justify it."

Olympic canoer Etienne Stott joined Extinction Rebellion activists Credit: Extinction Rebellion/PA

Olympic Champion Etienne Stott from campaign Champions for Earth, which supports and empowers athletes to use their platforms to speak on climate change, voiced his support of Innes.

He said: "I think her decision is incredibly brave.

"I am also very sad that she has felt that she needs to take it.

"She has grasped how severe and immediate the threat is and is acting on that understanding.

"Reconciling her sporting ambitions with a desire to protect our planet has led her to a brave and principled stand.

"The situation is quite desperate and as a young person, she is going to spend the majority of her life confronted with the effects of inaction to protect our, and her, future. 

"Her stance has got a lot of people thinking! She has been very humble and isn’t telling people what to do, but she is communicating, through her actions how seriously she is taking the challenge.

"Either way, the future of sport will look very different to how it looks now.

"Presently, sport is heavily reliant on cheap air travel and this is not sustainable, and I think sport has to face up to that challenge.

"But in the meantime, it’s a great shame that athletes like Innes are left feeling that it’s up to them to take such self-sacrificing acts to safeguard their future."

Innes FitzGerald's letter to British Athletics

Dear British Athletics,

To have the opportunity to compete for Great Britain in Australia is a privilege. However, it is with great regret that I must decline this opportunity.

When I started running, the prospect of me competing in the World Cross Country Championships would have seemed merely a dream. However, the reality of the travel fills me with deep concern.

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. Sir David King, former government chief scientific advisor, has said, ‘What we do, I believe, in the next three to four years will determine the future of humanity.’ The science is clear. Turning this around is only possible through transformational change from collective and personal action.

I would never be comfortable flying in the knowledge that people could be losing their livelihoods, homes and loved ones as a result. The least I can do is voice my solidarity with those suffering on the front line of climate breakdown.

Coming to a decision has not been easy, however little compares to the grief I would feel taking the flight.

Kind regards,Innes FitzGerald

ITV News contacted Ms FitzGerald's representatives but they declined to comment further.

British Athletics also declined to comment.

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