The Frenchman narrowly misses the world mark with a brilliant run in Lille.
Jimmy Gresier just missed out on the 5km world record on Saturday (April 4) but had the consolation of creating European history in 12:51, which puts him third on the all-time list.
Running on home soil at the Urban Trail de Lille, the world 10,000m champion threatened Berihou Aregawi’s 12:49 mark with a brilliant finish in what proved to be a superb race. The Frenchman was able to celebrate breaking his own European record by six seconds.
Ethiopia’s Adisu Yihune was second in 12:54, while another Frenchman, European 10km champion Jan Shroub, also held the previous continental record as he finished third in 12:56.
The world record looked to be in jeopardy when the lead group reached 6:30, but the closing speed was such; Grecier crossed the final kilometer in around 2:26, ​​which had the large crowd wondering if something special was on the cards.
Yihune and fellow Ethiopian Godana Gemechu hit the accelerator early on, but Gresier’s finishing shot came to the fore, leaving the rivals behind. The performance was made all the more impressive considering the winner’s admission that this winter was not easy for him.
“It was an incredible race. But to be honest, I knew Ian (Schrabb) was in top form, while I had a lot of trouble recovering from the World Cup,” said Gressier. The team: “I ran the title for two months, I felt intact, mentally strong, and then after Christmas, after eating too much chocolate, I hit a physical wall. The emotional fallout was very difficult to manage.
“I was able to keep my head down, cancel competitions, be interrogated, eat vegetables every night, it wasn’t easy. I mean, I put a lot of effort into these last five weeks because I knew Ian was in top form. I take my hat off to him.”
In seventh, world 1500m bronze medalist Narve Nordas broke the Norwegian record in 13:10, while the women’s race was won by world under-20 cross-country champion Marta Alemayo, who clocked 14:15 to lead the Ethiopian to round out the top three places. Havi Abera was second in 14:22, Yenenesh Shimket third in 14:24, and Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen seventh in 15:04 at the European Championships.
In the women’s 10km race, Nadia Battocletti broke the European record of 30:07 recently set by Great Britain’s Megan Keith by one second. The Italian, fresh off winning the world indoor 3000m title, finished fourth in 30:08 in a race won by reigning world record holder Agnes Ngetic in 28:58, finishing more than a minute ahead of second-placed Diriba Chaltu.
19-year-old Ethiopian Khairi Bejiga won the men’s race with a time of 26:51.
Full results here
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