Frenchman narrowly misses out on world mark with brilliant run in Lille.
Jimmy Gressier just missed out on the 5km world record on Saturday (April 4) but had the consolation of creating European history with a run of 12:51 that was the third-fastest ever seen.
Running on home soil in the Urban Trail de Lille, the world 10,000m champion threatened Berihu Aregawi’s mark of 12:49 with a blistering 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 Addisu Yihune was second in 12:54, while another Frenchman – the European 10km champion Yann Schrub – was also inside the previous continental record as he clocked 12:56 for third.
It hadn’t looked like the world record would come under threat when the leading group hit the halfway mark in 6:30, but the closing speed was such – Gressier covered the last kilometre in around 2:26 – that the large crowd began to wonder if something special was on the cards.
It was Yihune and his fellow Ethiopian Godana Gemechu who had initially hit the accelerator but Gressier’s finishing kick came to the fore to leave his rivals trailing. The performance was made all the more impressive given the winner’s admission that this winter has not been straightforward for him to deal with.
“It was an incredible race. But, to be honest, I knew Yann [Schrub] was in top form whereas I had a lot of trouble recovering from the emotions after the World Championships,” Gressier told L’Equipe. “I rode that title for two months, I felt untouchable, mentally strong, and then after Christmas, after eating a lot of chocolate, I hit a physical wall. The emotional comedown was very difficult to manage.
“I managed to keep my head down, cancel competitions, question myself, eat vegetables every night – it wasn’t easy. That is to say I put in a lot of effort these last five weeks because I knew Yann was in top form. I take my hat off to him.”
In seventh, world 1500m bronze medallist Narve Nordas broke the Norwegian record with 13:10, while the women’s race was won by world U20 cross country champion Marta Alemayo, who led an Ethiopian clean sweep of the top three places with her time of 14:15. Hawi Abera was second in 14:22, with Yenenesh Shimket third in 14:24, while Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen led the European charge in seventh with 15:04.
In the women’s 10km race, Nadia Battocletti came within one second of the European record of 30:07 recently set by Great Britain’s Megan Keith. The Italian, fresh from winning world indoor 3000m title, finished fourth with her run of 30:08 in a contest that was won by a dominant world record-holder Agnes Ngetich in 28:58, finishing over a minute clear of second-placed Diriba Chaltu.
Ethiopian 19-year-old Khairi Bejiga won the men’s race in 26:51.
Full results here