Running News Daily

French runner stops to eat a crepe before winning race

The European 5K record holder, Jimmy Gressier, decided to grab some late-race nutrition at the French Cross Country Championships.

Jimmy Gressier took the win in the senior men’s race at the French Cross Country Championships in Carhaix, France, on Sunday, slowing just before the finish to grab a crepe from a spectator on the sidelines. He then proceeded to break the tape while chowing down on his unexpected snack. Gressier has become pretty well known for this type of late-race antics, and his quirky finish-line celebration on Sunday was one of several that the world has seen throughout his career. 

A golden crepe 

In a video clip of Gressier’s win, it’s unclear whether he had planned to grab this crepe all along, or if it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. (Hopefully that was a friend who offered him the crepe, because otherwise that’s just sort of gross.) He had a lead of a few seconds and looked as though he was moving to give the crowd of spectators some high fives, but instead, he made contact with one person and came away with a crepe.

After that, Gressier took one look back, apparently decided that he had enough of a lead and slowed down to enjoy his snack and cruise into the finish line. After crossing the line, he held the crepe up in celebration before turning back to congratulate second-place finisher Markus Georger. Perhaps the funniest moment in all of this came when Gressier offered Georger and third-place runner Fabien Palcau bites of the crepe. Georger politely declined, but Palcau took Gressier up on the strange show of sportsmanship and had a bite. 

Nothing new

This may be the oddest thing that Gressier has done at a finish line so far in his career, but it’s not the first time he’s put on a show in the final metres of a race. At the 2018 European Cross Country Championships, he face-planted at the line, falling into the tape to take the win. In 2019, once again at the European Cross Championships, he did his best impression of a race walker in the closing metres of the run.

At the 2021 French Cross Country Championships, Gressier had what he thought was a healthy lead in the final couple hundred metres, so he slowed to celebrate with the spectators and an event mascot. After a few moments of this premature celebration, Gressier looked back to find that his competitors were much closer than he had anticipated, so he picked up the pace once more to lock up the win.  

Gressier’s career

At 25, Gressier is still quite young, but he has amassed several big accomplishments in his time as an elite runner. From 2017 to 2019, he won U23 gold in three straight  European Cross Country Championships, and he added two more U23 European titles in 2019 in the 5,000m and 10,000m.

He is the French record holder in the 10K with a PB of 27:33 and he owns the European 5K record of 13:12 (he ran both of those results in February). He is undoubtedly one of the best runners France has ever produced, and it looks like he’s only going to continue to add to his already impressive resume, which means we’ll likely get to see many more strange and funny celebrations from him in the years to come. 

Sheila Chepkirui eyes Boston after winning Semi De Paris

Reigning Commonwealth Games 10,000m bronze medalist Sheila Chepkirui is keen to add another feather to her cap during next month's Boston Marathon in the United States of America.

Speaking after winning the Paris Half Marathon title in France on Sunday, Chepkirui admitted that the title was not won easily because she has to battle the cold conditions in France.

“The victory here is a precursor for the Boston Marathon next month. I have to train well to ensure I get the results,” said Chepkirui, the two-time national cross-country champion.

The Kericho-based athlete won the 21km distance after clocking 66.00 minutes ahead of Ethiopian Betelihem Yemer (66.45) and Kenyan Marion Kibor (66.45), who completed the podium. Both Yemer and Kibor ran their personal bests.

“Despite the chilly condition, things were not badly off for me because it was not windy,” she said.

In the men’s race, it was a 1-2 podium finish for Kenyan athletes with  Roncer Kipkorir emerging victorious in 59:38 minutes.

Kipkorir ran his personal best and course record after beating Josphat Chumo to second place in 59:53, also a personal best. Home runner  Jimmy Gressier was third in 61:29.

In Italy, former Atlanta Half Marathon champions, Dorcas Jepchirchir Tuitoek and Isaac Kipkemboi won the Rome Ostia race.

The Kapsabet-based Tuitoek ran away with the women's title in 66:21 minutes ahead of Kenya- born turned-Israeli Lornah Salpeter and Magdalene Masai.

The 66.21 minutes was Tuitoek's personal best time as Salpeter came second at 66:56 and Masai (67:07) third.

In the men's race, Isaac Kipkemboi led a Kenyan 1-2 finish as he posted his personal best of 59:47. Wesley Kimutai (59:47) took the second place with Ethiopian Tadese Takele Bikira was third in 59:56.

French Jimmy Gressier ran 13:12 to regain the European 5km record at the MonacoRun

Jimmy Gressier ran 13:12 to regain the European 5km record at the MonacoRun, a World Athletics Label event, in Monaco on Sunday (12).

The French 25-year-old had gone into the event targeting the area record of 13:14 that had been set by Italy’s Yemaneberhan Crippa in Herzogenaurach last April, that mark having taken four seconds off the continental record that Gressier had set in Monaco in 2020.

Pacing his run to perfection, the European 10,000m fourth-place finisher managed to take two seconds off the European record and won by 12 seconds ahead of South Sudan’s Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu. Uganda’s world 5000m bronze medalist Oscar Chelimo finished third in 13:32.

“It was a controlled race. My pacers did a great job and the goal beforehand was to run close to 13:10,” said Gressier. “I came back from a great training camp in Kenya and I could feel my shape was getting better and better this week.”

Gressier will continue to race on the roads over the next few weeks, competing over 10km and the half marathon in Castellon and Paris, before focusing on the 1500m and 5000m on the track during the outdoor season.

The women’s 5km was won by Kenya’s Mirriam Chebet in 15:40.

Chebet proved her form by finishing third at the Campaccio Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in San Giorgio su Legnano last month and in Monaco she secured a dominant victory, winning by 44 seconds ahead of Norway’s Ine Bakken. Jenipher Contois of France was third in 16:28.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw will challenge her global mark of 29:14 this weekend in Valencia

Get ready for some quick times on Sunday (Jan 15) when the self-styled “ciudad del running” stages its annual 10km Valencia Ibercaja event on its famously fast roads.

Many of the world’s top distance runners will descend upon the Spanish city this weekend in search of record-breaking performances. These include Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who will attack her own women’s world record of 29:14 set in Castellón 11 months ago.

The 23-year-old impressed over the marathon last year, too, as she clocked what was, at the time, the world’s fastest ever debut by a woman with 2:17:23 in Hamburg before later capturing the London Marathon title in 2:17:26.

British athletes are in Valencia in force too. The Spanish road race clashes with the trial in Perth, Scotland, for the World Cross Country Championships, but many have opted to slip on their super-shoes rather than spikes to chase PBs on the road.

Yehualaw is the star attraction and will wear No.1 on her singlet on Sunday, but she is joined in Valencia by fellow Ethiopian Ejgayehu Taye, who holds the world 5km record with 14:19 from Barcelona in 2021. In addition, Karoline Grøvdal of Norway will attack the European record of 30:05 held by Lonah Salpeter of Israel.

In the men’s field, sub-27min performers Richard Kimunyan Yator and Weldon Kipkirui Langat of Kenya plus Rodrigue Kwizera of Burundi lead the men’s entries in a field of around 11,000 runners which is set to feature about 100 elite athletes from 15 different nations.

Jacob Krop, the world 5000m silver medallist and 12:45.71 runner on the track, is also in the line-up together with Paul Chelimo of the United States, while Morhad Amdouni and Jimmy Gressier of France lead the European challenge.

Their target is Rhonex Kipruto’s world record of 26:24, which was set in this event in 2020.

“We want the men to approach the European record (27:13 by Julien Wanders set in Valencia in 2020) and, with the African armada, to look for sub-27 records and even approach the world record,” said Acuña. “The 2023 race will be the most competitive of all editions. The best European athletes want to run the 10km Valencia Ibercaja – and we have been working for months in that direction.”

He added: “The goal of the race is to become more international year after year and reach more and more countries. We are a world reference for the distance and the best athletes want to run in Valencia.”

Don’t be surprised to see the UK all-time rankings revised on Sunday when a large contingent of British athletes tackle the Valencia 10km.

They are led by Samantha Harrison, who already sits No.5 on the UK all-time rankings with 31:10 from Telford in December.

Calli Thackery, the fifth quickest British woman in history over 5km with 14:58, is also set to compete. Add to this Olympic marathoner Steph Twell, plus Amelia Quirk, Lucy Reid and Sarah Astin.

One week after out-kicking Jake Wightman indoors over 3000m, Phil Sesemann takes to the roads looking to beat his 28:24 PB from 2019.

The Mahamed brothers – Mahamed and Zak – are also in the line-up, plus Olympic 5000m finalist Andy Butchart, Efrem Gidey, Ellis Cross, Calum Elson and Kadar Omar.

The list goes on with Kieran Clements, Jack Gray, Jonathan Hopkins, Alfie Manthorpe, Lewis Jagger, Ronny Wilson, Jonny Davies, Alex Lepetre, Jonathan Escalante, Dan Studley, Norman Shreeve and Corey De’Ath. 

Hundreds of runners collapse in wild start line video, Who could have seen this coming?

Start lines at a race can be intimidating, especially if, only 10 meters in, there is a big tree that you and hundreds of runners have to go around. In this bizarre race video from a 10K in Paris last week, hundreds of elite and sub-elite runners fell in perhaps the most chaotic start line we’ve seen this year.

The Corrida de Houilles is one of the most popular 10K road races in France, due to its fast course and deep field. The race has a strict entry standard of sub-44 minutes for women and sub-37 minutes for men, which attracts top domestic and international talent. 

The giant tree a few metres from the start line isn’t the only obstacle runners have to avoid—street lamps and curbs make it almost impossible to avoid falling. Once one person goes down, there is a domino effect, as you see in the video.

The race had 63 men who finished under 30 minutes, with Ethiopia’s Halie Bekele taking the win in 27:29, one second ahead of Vincent Kibet of Kenya. Bekele was fourth in the men’s 5,000m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. Jimmy Gressier of France finished third in a European-leading time of 27:43.

In the women’s race, Kenya’s Mercy Cherono won with a time of 30:55 seconds. Cherono won silver in the 5,000m at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow.

Welsh marathoner Josh Griffiths, who starred in the iconic airport half-marathon video, said the start was a disaster. Many other elites are calling on the organization committee to move the start line past the tree in 2023. “It was complete carnage,” one runner said.

Changing any part of the course would require the race organizers to obtain a new certification from World Athletics. The race is currently listed as an Elite Label race on the World Athletics calendar. 

The 10K Valencia Ibercaja hopes to have more world class times this year

The 10K Valencia Ibercaja is finalizing the details to offer again a great show in what will be its 15th edition. The race, which is currently approaching 11,000 registered participants, will feature a hundred elite athletes of 15 different nationalities in search of their best times in the city of running.

The fastest 10K in the world continues to set the bar high and, after the World Record still in force achieved in 2020 by Rhonex Kipruto (26:24), on January 15, 2023 will seek to break other records. In fact, the recordwoman Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who achieved the women's world record this year 2022 in Castellón (29:14), will be at the starting line of the 10K Valencia Ibercaja and will try to beat it.

The Ethiopian will not be alone in this feat, as she will be accompanied by her compatriot Ejgayehu Taye Haylu, who holds the 5K world record (14:19, Barcelona 2021). Also, Norwegian athlete Karoline Grøvdal, who holds her country's national 5,000ml record and was recently proclaimed European Cross Country Champion, will try to achieve the European 10K record.

The fact that the two fastest women in the world in 10 and 5 kilometers on the road participate in the 10K Valencia Ibercaja is the result of the work done for many months led by the Sports Director of the event, José Enrique Muñoz Acuña.

"It is a great pride to have the two athletes who hold the world record in 10K and 5K," said Acuña, who has advanced that the women's lineup continues to dazzle with other athletes who also have very important marks such as the national record of 10K (Meraf Bahta) and Half Marathon (Sarah Lahti) of Sweden or the 3,000m steeplechase of Germany (Kristina Hendel). "In women, we will have a total of eight U31 athletes, ten U32 athletes and nine U33 athletes," he explains.

International men's elite

As for the participation of elite male athletes, he highlights that the race will have four U27 runners led by the Ethiopian Hagos Gebrhiwet Berhe, who achieved the mark of 26:48 in Hengelo (2019). "We will have - adds Acuña - five U27 athletes, more than 20 U28 athletes, about 40 U29 athletes and around 100 U30 athletes."

In addition, up to six runners who hold national records in 5K, 10K or Marathon distances in their country, such as the French athlete Jimmy Gressier or the Burundian athlete Rodrigue Kwizera will also take the start in the Paseo de la Alameda, along with the Kenyan Jacob Krop, who won bronze in the last World Championship in 5000ml, or the athlete who achieved the Ethiopian national record in 3000mlm Getnet Wale.

"We want, in men, to approach the European record and, with the African armada, to look for sub 27 records and even approach the World Record, without being a specific objective of this edition". Thus, the 2023 edition "will be the most competitive of all editions. The best European athletes want to run the 10K Valencia Ibercaja, and we have been working for months in that direction".

"The goal of the race is to become more international year after year and reach more and more countries. We are a world reference for the distance and the best athletes want to run in Valencia," Acuña explains. The presence of athletes of up to fifteen different nationalities stands out. Among the most represented countries are Ethiopia, Kenya, France, Great Britain, Holland and Sweden.

Acuña has indicated that in the 10K Valencia Ibercaja "we will continue working to maintain the high level achieved in the 2020 edition when Rhonex Kipruto got the World Record (26:24), Julien Wanders the European Record (27:13) and Sheila Chepkirui the best female time of the circuit (29:46)".

Spain’s Mariano Garcia Runs Smart Race To Win Thrilling European 800m Title

On the final evening of the 25th European Athletics Championships at Olympic Stadium here, Spain’s Mariano Garcia and Italy’s Yemaneberhan Crippa captured the final two distance medals on offer.  Garcia, who won the world indoor title at 800m last March, added the European outdoor title here tonight in a personal best 1:44.85.  Crippa, who won the bronze medal in the 5000m five days ago, won the 10,000m in 27:46.13.  He became the first Italian man to win the European 10,000m title in 32 years.

Although he came into the race as the current world indoor champion, Garcia wasn’t the favorite for gold.  He had never broken 1:45 –either indoors or out– and he was faced with the daunting challenge of beating reigning world 1500m champion, Jake Wightman of Great Britain.  Wightman, who stepped down in distance for these championships after running the 1500m at both the World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games, said before these championships began that he was particularly motivated to compete well here.

“Coming here to do the 800 is just something I’m actually excited to do,” Wightman said.  He continued: “I want to show I can be as competitive over eight as fifteen.”

And indeed, he was.  Running an intelligent race, Wightman let Garcia lead at 400 meters (52.07).  The Scotsman sat in the main group with Ireland’s Mark English and his British teammate Ben Pattison and continued to stay slightly behind Garcia through 600 meters (1:18.59).  Wightman was where he wanted to be.

“I was just ready to race and did not care too much about the splits,” Wightman told the European Athletics mixed zone team.  “It was more about the position in the race to get medals.”

Coming around the final bend Garcia had the slightest of leads, but he was running on the rail and had the shortest line to the finish.  English was also well-positioned behind Garcia, while Wightman was out in lane two and also had Belgium’s Eliott Crestan to pass who was between him and Garcia.  The Spaniard’s strategy of leading in the second half was about to pay off.

“When I decided to take the lead, I knew I had to give it my all,” Garcia said.  “Because towards the end of the race, that’s when you have less energy, so I need to get this right.”

In the final 100 meters Wightman was able to make it close.  He got ahead of English and was closing down Garcia but just couldn’t catch him before the line.  Only 6/100ths of a second separated them, and Wightman got silver in 1:44.91.

“I was very close to the gold, and I would be very glad to get that, but still I am pretty happy with the silver,” Wightman said.  “I was not quite close enough in the last straight and it is tough when you are not that close with a strong opponents.”

English, who won the bronze medal at his first European Championships in 2014, got the bronze in 1:45.19.

“I am really pleased to get the bronze medal,” English said.  “I can’t really ask for more.”

Sweden’s Andreas Kramer nearly caught English and finished fourth in 1:45.38.  He was in last place with 110 meters to go in the race.

Crippa’s victory was achieved by a fast start, a slow middle and a fast finish.  France’s Jimmy Gressier decided to attack the field right from the gun, running an improbably-fast first lap of 61.6 seconds.  The Frenchman said that he felt most comfortable going hard from the gun.

“I go fast because it’s my best strategy,” Gressier told Race Results Weekly in English.  “I like (to) run fast.  It is the same as cross country; I like to push the run.”

The field immediately strung out.  Gressier had Britain’s Marc Scott and Turkey’s Aras Kaya right on his heels through 3000m (8:09.9), and the leaders were on pace to run 27:13.  Scott expected Gressier to push early and was ready for that.

“I thought he’d do something like that just knowing the type of character he is,” Scott told Race Results Weekly.  “But it’s nothing most of the field can’t handle because we all knew it was going to come back.”

Indeed, when Scott took over the lead at 3600 meters, lap times fell to the 70-second range and the field bunched up again.  France’s Yoann Kowal tried a solo breakaway but by 4800 meters he was absorbed.  Kaya was the nominal leader at 5000m (13:54.2) with Crippa and Scott right behind.  Crippa, who won the bronze medal at the 2018 edition of these championships, was feeling confident.

“Compared to fours years ago, in Berlin 2018, I feel I have changed a lot – especially my mindset,” he said.  “I am much stronger mentally than I was in the past.”

He used that mental strength to hold back in the second half of the race.  He led for five laps through 8400 meters averaging a not-too-fast 67 seconds per lap.  He didn’t immediately react when Norway’s Zerei Kbrom Mezngi took the lead at 8800 meters and built up a small lead over Crippa, Gressier, Britain’s Emile Cairess, and France’s Yann Schrub.  Instead, he waited for the final 200 meters to try and catch the tall Norwegian.  The crowd roared as Crippa began to close from at last 50 meters back.

“I believed in myself, and I knew I could do what I did tonight,” Crippa said.

With about 80 meters to go, Crippa passed Mezngi to seal the victory.  Mezngi held his speed and got the silver in 27:46.94, a personal best, while Schrub managed to pull away from Gressier and get the bronze in 27:47.13, also a personal best.

“I kept some energy and was able to use it on the last meters,” said Schrub, who is a medical student.  “I would have never thought that I could win a medal today.”

Ingebrigtsen to launch another 1500/5000m double attempt in Munich 2022

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be heavily involved in the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, part of the wider multisport European Championships, as he defends the 1500m and 5000m titles he won as a 17-year-old at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships. 

The Olympic 1500m champion and world 5000m champion will not, however, face the either of his brothers Filip and Henrik who are both injured nor the Brit who unexpectedly beat him to the world 1500m title in Eugene last month, Jake Wightman. 

The latter is concentrating on the 800m in Munich – the event he originally planned to do at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games until he was nudged back to the longer distance because of the number of friends and family who had bought tickets for the final last Saturday when he won bronze in a high quality final in 3:30.53. 

With a personal best of 1:44.18 from 2020, Wightman has a realistic chance of adding another European medal to the bronze he won over 1500m in Berlin four years ago – and his victory over 1000m at the Monaco Diamond League meeting on Wednesday night in 2:13.88, ninth fastest of all-time, will have done his confidence no harm at all. 

France’s Benjamin Robert has the fastest 2022 time of all entrants – the 1:43.75 he clocked in winning at the Paris Diamond League on 18 June in boisterous fashion, squeezing in between the two leaders with enough physicality to be disqualified before being reinstated on appeal. If things get physical in Munich, Robert is unlikely to come off second best. 

Tony van Diepen is also well acquainted with the hurly-burly of the track having been a part of the Dutch teams that won 4x400m silver at the Tokyo 2020 Games and mixed 4x400m silver at the World Championships in Oregon. 

Individually, van Diepen has won European indoor silver in 2021 and bronze in 2019 over 400m and has a best 800m time of 1:44.14 set this year in Paris after M. Robert had burst past him at the Stade Charlety. 

Robert’s compatriot Gabriel Tual, seventh in last year’s Olympic final, is third fastest on this year’s European list with 1:44.23, set in – you’ve guessed it – Paris. But the French team will be without the popular Pierre-Ambroise Bosse, the 2017 world champion, due to injury.

Poland’s Patryk Dobek has run 1:44.59 this year and even though he exited in the heats at the World Athletics Championships, he can also draw upon the experience of winning bronze at last year’s Olympics in Tokyo. 

Other medal prospects include Sweden’s Andreas Kramer (1:44.59), Ireland’s Mark English (1:44.76), fellow Brits Ben Pattison (1:44.60) and Kyle Langford (1:44.61), Spain's reigning world indoor champion Mariano Garcia (1:45.12) and the very experienced former two-time world medallist Amel Tuka from Bosnia and Herzegovina (1:46.15) whose lifetime best of 1:42.57 dates back to 2015.

Aside from Bosse, another notable absentee will be the three-time reigning champion Adam Kszczot from Poland who retired at the start of the year.

Ingebrigtsen's path to double gold is clearer although not without challenges

With Wightman elsewhere, Ingebrigtsen will surely feel happier about the prospect of his 1500m defence, but he will still face a field full of Spanish and British medal threats. 

Second on this year’s European list with 3:30.20, Spain’s Mario Garcia will be looking to give the Norwegian wonderboy another run for his money after finishing fourth - two places behind Ingebrigtsen - in Oregon. 

The Brits dominate the 2022 European list with six athletes in the top nine and despite the absence of Wightman and Olympic bronze medallist Josh Kerr, Jake Heyward (3:31.08), Neil Gourley (3:32.93) and Matt Stonier (3:32.50) form a trio with clear medal-winning ability.

But Ingebrigtsen, who ran 3:29.47 to take world silver, and ran an Olympic and European record of 3:28.32 at the Tokyo 2020 Games, should have enough to cover any challenge in both events. 

In the 5000m, it might be the athlete who appears second from last on the entry-list in terms of season's bests who could provide the biggest challenge to Ingebrigtsen. That athlete is Spain’s Mohammed Katir who won a bronze medal behind Ingebrigtsen in the 1500m at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon and will be focusing solely on the longer event in Munich.

Katir, 24, has a modest season's best of 13:43.61 from the Spanish Championships but he showed what he can do over the longer distance by running a national record of 12:50.79 in Rome last summer in the same race where Ingebrigtsen broke the European record with 12:48.65.

Another strong potential challenger is the experienced Spaniard Adel Mechaal, who was fifth in the Olympic 1500m final last year and set a 5000m personal best of 13:06.02 in Oslo in June. Mechaal didn't make it through to the final of the World Athletics Championships but that wasn't too surprising as he had only just recovered from an untimely bout of coronavirus which forced him to miss the 1500m.

In both the 5000m and 10,000m, watch out for Italy’s Yemaneberhan Crippa, 25, who has been a star performer in numerous European competitions, winning bronze at the 2019 European Cross Country Championships and the European 10,000m Cup in the same year. 

Crippa has the fastest time among the entrants based on season’s best performances in the 10,000m with 27:16.18 ahead of another showboating, talented figure in Jimmy Gressier of France – he of the famous faceplant as he won the 2018 European U23 cross country title. This didn’t stop him from walking through the line to win the same title the following year, demonstrating just how much time he had to spare. 

There weren’t quite the same histrionics at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Dublin last December but Gressier let his running do the talking and he came away with his first senior medal in a race where Ingebrigtsen ruled triumphant once again.

Gressier will be focusing solely on the 10,000m in Munich and the Frenchman is the second fastest performer this year with 27:24.51 which he set at the European 10,000m Cup on home soil in Pacé in May when he ran away from the field for the individual title.

Man celebrates 5K win and loses race

Every so often a runner makes the mistake of over-celebrating their win before they cross the finish line. It’s always nice to win in style or to strike a sweet pose for Instagram, but a man at the Santander Run Series Villa Forma 5K race in Salvador, Brazil, took it too far.

As the runner was approaching the finishing tape, he got down on his hands and knees to kiss the finish line before he crossed it. It’s clear he did not see the other runner coming him before he started celebrating.

Upon further investigation, even though the man’s hands touched the tape before the second runner, the other runner’s body/race chip was the first to physically cross the finish line, which earned him the win.

French Olympian and 1,500m runner Jimmy Gressier has also developed a reputation for showboating before he wins a race, but so far it has not cost him the race.Hopefully, this is a lesson on what not to do when crossing the finish line.

Fast times at the Meta Time Trials in Malaga

Eilish McColgan has set a UK 5km record of 14:45 at the ASICS META:TIME:TRIALS in Malaga.

She bettered her own 5km mark of 14:48 from the UAE back in February and Paula Radcliffe’s 14:51, set at Hyde Park in 2003, while McColgan is also close behind Sifan Hassan’s European 5km record of 14:44.

Fast times were the target and many were achieved at Sunday's META: TIME : TRIALS by ASICS, a World Athletics Label event in Malaga, with Ethiopia’s Tsegay Kidanu quickest in the men’s 10km with 27:14 and Britain’s Eilish McColgan among the national record-breakers in the 5km.

The event was specially organised to showcase the new METASPEED™+ Series footwear and McColgan, the 2018 European 5000m silver medallist, was among the athletes to go quicker than ever before. She led the women’s 5km in 14:45 to improve the official British record and finish ahead of Kenya’s Naomi Chepngeno with 14:57.

In the men’s race, Olympic finalist Mohamed Katir ran 13:20 to miss Jimmy Gressier’s European record by just two seconds. Felix Bour of France was second in 13:41.

Kidanu impressed on his 10km road race debut, running 27:14 after passing half way in 13:42. That saw the 2019 world U20 cross country fifth-place finisher win by nine seconds ahead of Kenya’s Boniface Kibiwott with 27:23.

Kenya’s Vicoty Chepngeno, winner of the Houston Half Marathon in January, was this time racing over 10km and claimed top spot in 31:39, 16 seconds ahead of Sweden’s Sarah Lahti with 31:55.

Three athletes dipped under the hour in the men’s half marathon, led by Morocco’s Olympic marathon 11th place finisher Mohamed Reda El Aaraby with 59:54.

That saw him break the hour barrier for the first time, improving on his previous best of 1:00:17 set when finishing 13th the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia.

Kenya’s Wilfred Kimitei and Alfred Kipchirchir were just two seconds behind him, both clocking 59:56, while their compatriot Vincent Ngetich clocked exactly an hour.

Ethiopia’s Yeshi Kalayu Chekole claimed a clear win in the women’s half marathon, running a PB of 1:07:30 to finish 38 seconds ahead of Kenya’s Sharon Kemboi with 1:08:08.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins 2021 Eurpoean XC championships

The 2021 European Cross Country Championships took place Sunday in Dublin, Ireland, and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the senior men’s race in 30:15, ahead of Turkey’s Aras Kaya and Jimmy Gressier of France. Karoline Grøvdal, also of Norway, won the women’s race in 26:34.

The men’s race

The senior men’s race featured an all-star lineup, but the real race XC fans were waiting for was between Ingebrigtsen and Gressier. Ingebrigtsen won four successive U20 titles from 2016 to 2019, and despite the fact that he is only 21 and still eligible to race at the U23 level, the Olympic gold medalist instead chose to make the jump to running in the senior race.

Gressier also has an impressive track record in cross country, having won three successive individual and team titles between 2017 and 2019 at the U23 level. He also graduated to the senior level this year, and while most of his competitors have not done a lot of racing this fall, Gressier has been cleaning up on the French domestic XC circuit. In the end, it was Ingebrigtsen who was victorious, followed by Kaya in second and Gressier in third.

The women’s race

It was a winning weekend for Norway, with Grøvdal taking the win on the women’s side in 26:34 for the 8K race. Meraf Bahta of Sweden finished behind her in second in 26:44, followed by Alina Reh of Germany in 26:53.

Heading into the race, the favorite was Turkey’s Yasemin Can, who has never been beaten at a European Cross Country Championships. Had she won Sunday’s race, she would have claimed her fifth consecutive European XC Title, but she ultimately finished 14th in 28:38. Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen is also a multiple-time winner at the European Cross Country Championships and took back-to-back U20 titles in 2015 and 2016. In the end, she finished 5th in 27:12 behind Great Britain’s Jessica Judd.

14:43! Chepkoech breaks world 5km record in Monaco

Beatrice Chepkoech broke the world 5km record at the Monaco Run on Sunday (14), clocking 14:43*.

The performance by the 29-year-old Kenyan bettered the previous record in a mixed gender race of 14:48 set by Caroline Kipkirui in 2018, and is also one second faster than Sifan Hassan's 14:44 record for a women's-only race, until this morning the fastest time ever produced over the distance since the 5km was introduced as a world record event in November 2017.

Chepkoech battled strong winds during the early stages of the race along the Monaco coastline but fought on over the latter stages to claim a second world record, this one joining her 8:44.32 record in the 3000m steeplechase set in 2018, also in Monaco.

"I'm so happy because I didn't expect it," said Chepkoech, the 2019 world champion in the steeplechase. "It was cold and there was a lot of wind, but I tried to follow my pace maker and everything was perfect."

She may not have had the world record in mind initially, but Chepkoech did set her sights on victory from the outset. 

Despite the winds, Chepkoech had already forged a six-second lead just 500 metres into the race, before reaching the first kilometre in 2:57, 15 seconds clear of Meraf Bahta, her nearest competitor. Splits of 2:59 for the second kilometre and 3:01 for the third followed before she and pacesetter Luuk Maas decided to up the tempo as they approached the Larvotto Tunnel portion of the course, at the northeastern edge of the Principality's main port, a second time. 

Since the winds had died down, she said, "my pacemaker told me ‘we can do it, let’s push it’."

She did.

After a 2:57 fourth kilometre, Chepkoech ended her morning's work with a 2:47 closing kilometre to take ownership of the world record.

Chepkoech had already illustrated her strong early 2021 form with an 8:34.21 career best over 3000m indoors in Lievin on 9 February. She'll race next at the Copernicus Cup leg of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting series in Torun, Poland, on 17 February before returning home to resume her training.

Joshua Cheptegei, who set the men's world record of 12:51 at this race last year, successfully defended his title, clocking 13:13.

The 24-year-old Ugandan ran at or near the front from the gun but it was clear early on that the conditions would not be conducive for a serious assault on his year-old record.

"The wind was incredibly difficult," said Cheptegei, who covered the opening kilometre in 2:44, 13 seconds behind the pace that propelled him to the world record last year. Kilometre splits of 2:41, 2:37 and 2:38 followed before he closed with a 2:32, the fastest of the race.

Kenyans Bethwell Birgen and Davis Kiplangat clocked 13:17 and 13:19 to round out the top three with Morhad Amdouni of France fourth in 13:19, one second outside of the European record set by compatriot Jimmy Gressier at this race last year.

European indoor 5000m record-holder Marc Scott stormed to a British record in Barrowford on Saturday evening, clocking 13:20 to just miss the European best at the Podium 5km

European indoor 5000m record-holder runs 13:20 on the road, while triathlete Beth Potter impresses with 15:24 to go fifth UK all-time.

Marc Scott stormed to a British record in Barrowford on Saturday evening, clocking 13:20 to just miss the European best at the Podium 5km.

Alex Yee was also under the previous UK record time of 13:27 which had been set by Nick Goolab in Monaco in February, with the 2018 UK 10,000m champion running 13:26.

Yee’s fellow triathlete Beth Potter was also in impressive form as she won the elite women’s race in 15:24 to move to fifth on the UK all-time list.

World University Games champion Jess Judd was second in 15:36 for a time that puts her joint 10th UK all-time.

Racing on a loop course in Lancashire in blustery conditions, Scott led through the first kilometre in around 2:39 before Omar Ahmed took over at the front and led through 2km in 5:22 from Scott and Yee.

Scott was in the lead again at 3km, which he passed in around 8:03 with Yee and Ahmed close behind, and the eventual winner went through 4km in 10:43, a couple of seconds ahead of Yee.

As Scott crossed the finish line with a British record time on the clock, he also came close to the European best of 13:18 set by France’s Jimmy Gressier in the same Monaco race that Goolab had set the previous top UK mark.

This latest result continues a string of strong performances by US-based Scott, who broke the European indoor 5000m best with 13:08.87 in Boston in February.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen breaks Norwegian 5km record in Stavanger at one of the first races in the world since March 8

Multiple European champion clocks 13:28, just ahead of brother Henrik, as road race action returns

Jakob Ingebrigtsen stormed to a Norwegian 5km record in Stavanger on Wednesday evening, clocking 13:28 as road race action returned to the streets of Norway and the screens of athletics fans across the world.

His brother Henrik was four seconds behind him and also inside the old record time of 13:37 which had been set by Sondre Nordstad Moen in Monaco in February 2019.

The race had been adapted to meet health and infection control rules because of the coronavirus pandemic and took place on a 2.5km loop course, with the five athletes in this particular wave starting in a grid format.

It was live streamed by Norwegian broadcasting company NRK, with fans around the world tuning in to watch.

On an overcast evening in the Norwegian city, Henrik was quickly to the fore, before the Ingebrigtsen brothers’ training partners Narve Gilje Nordås and Per Svela plus Zerei Kbrom Mezngi took turns at the front.

Jakob then came through and pushed the pace, holding his lead all the way to the finish line where he was welcomed by rows of spectators.

His first loop was timed at 7:00 before he sped up to complete the second half of the race in 6:28.

In that wave, Svela finished third in 13:40, while Mezngi was fourth in 13:44 and Nordås fifth in 13:45.

Running in another wave, Vienna Søyland Dahle clocked the quickest women’s time with 16:14.

“It was fun to finally get the start number on my chest again, but I had to wake the body up,” Jakob told NRK’s ​​Jann Post.

“Compared to the same time last year, I must say that I have taken a step in the right direction again.”

Henrik said: “The most important thing was not to go crazy compared to Jacob. I think I’m clearly fine. The body held and I feel I am where I should be in relation to Jacob.”

Ahead of the race, Gjert Ingebrigtsen, the father and coach of Jakob and Henrik (pictured below), had told NRK: “The most important thing for the boys is to have a good experience, to get started with the season.”

Neither Jakob, the double European champion in 2018, nor his older brother Henrik, the 2012 European 1500m winner, had ever previously competitively raced over the distance on the road but 19-year-old Jakob broke the Norwegian 10km record on his debut in October, clocking 27:54.

He was competing for the first time since winning his fourth under-20 title at the European Cross Country Championships in December, while for Henrik it was his first race since the 5000m final at the World Championships in Doha.

The course featured a few twists and turns, so fans were left wondering what else Jakob might be capable of over the distance on the road.

The fastest official 5km road time by a European athlete is Julien Wanders’ 13:29 from February 2019 but Jimmy Gressier has since clocked 13:18, with that time from February awaiting ratification. The world best is Joshua Cheptegei’s 12:51 from earlier this year. Those three performances were all achieved in Monaco.

Both Jakob and Henrik are set to race over 2000m at the Oslo ‘Impossible Games’ which is due to take place instead of the traditional Diamond League meeting in June.

Cheptegei shattered the world 5km road record in Monaco

Joshua Cheptegei shattered the world record in the 5km, clocking 12:51 at the Monaco Run 5km in the Mediterranean Principality today (16).

Running alone from the start, the 23-year-old Ugandan smashed through the event's 13-minute barrier, clipping a massive 27 seconds from the previous record of 13:18 set by Kenya's Rhonex Kipruto en route to his 10km world record in Valencia on 12 January.

Quick from the outset, Cheptegei blitzed through the first kilometre in 2:31, the fastest split of the race. He followed up with 2:35, 2:36 and 2:35 kilometre splits before sealing his record with a closing 2:32 kilometre.

“Wow, this is a really great," said Cheptegei, the 2019 world 10,000m champion, who was making his 2020 racing debut.

"I had sub 13 minutes in my mind today so when my legs felt good during the race I decided to really go for it. To take this many seconds off the record makes me very happy and is a great first test for me in an important season.”

Jimmy Gressier of France was second in 13:18, to break the European record of 13:29 set by Julien Wanders in this race last year.

Nick Goolab of Great Britain was third in 13:27, two seconds clear of Morocco's Mohamed Amine El Bouajaji.

Cheptegei's command performance not only eclipsed Kipruto's pending world record and the most recently ratified record of 13:22, set by Robert Keter in Lille on 9 November, but also bettered the fastest time ever recorded for the distance, Sammy Kipketer's 13:00 clocking in Carlsbad, USA, in 2000, well before the 5km became an official world record event in November 2017.

Liv Westphal won the women's race in 15:31, a French national record.

Daniel Simiu Ebenyo and Norah Jeruto smashed the men’s and women’s course records at the 48th edition of the Corrida Pédestre Internationale de Houilles on Sunday

In the men’s race, in the absence of the two-time defending champion Julien Wanders, Frenchman Jimmy Gressier set a very aggressive pace from the gun. He hit the first kilometer in a very fast 2:40, a blazing 26:40 pace.

At his instigation a small group broke from the rest of the field: Kenyans Ebenyo, Felix Kipkoech and Nibret Melak along with Ethiopian Haftu Teklu, who finished fifth at last year’s event.

The leading group slowed the tempo, going through three kilometers in 8:10. Then Ebenyo, who had improved his career best to 28:23 one month ago, made his move and broke from the field. After two of the three laps, Ebenyo’s pace was faster than the 27:25 course record set by Wanders last year.

The gap continued to grow over the next few kilometers before Ebenyo produced an impressive display of strength in the waning stages to break the tape in 27:12, improving the course record by 13 seconds.

With this time, Ebenyo ends 2019 as the fourth fastest fourth 10km runner of the year.

After a fierce final sprint battle, Teklu edged Gressier to take second in 27:43, 27 seconds faster than his personal best set in this race last year. Gressier, who was given the same time, improved his previous best by 30 seconds.

“I gave everything,” said Gressier, who clinched a third consecutive European U23 cross country title in Lisbon earlier this month. “I was only expected a time today, not the place.” He will be targeting Wanders’ 27:25 European record next week in Nice.

As expected, the women’s race was fast as well. Norah Jeruto fulfilled her status as pre-race favorite following her 30:07 career best last September in Prague. The Kenyan, 24, made up the difference quickly ahead of the Ethiopian pair of Nigsti Haftu Tesfay and Gete Alemayehu, the defending champion and course record holder.

Jeruto captured a convincing victory in 30:32, breaking the course record by 40 seconds. Tesfay, who won the Corrida de Langueux in June, finished runner-up in 30:52, 20 seconds adrift of the winner.

Alemayehu finished third and bettered her personal best by four seconds, crossing the line in 31:08, four seconds ahead of Liv Westphal, who improved the French national record by five seconds. Westphal, 26, finished fifth at the European Cross Country Championships.

Course records under threat in Houilles 10 km

The men’s and women’s course records will be in jeopardy at the 48th edition of the Houilles 10km in the suburbs of Paris where strong fields have been assembled for the World Athletics Silver Label road race on Sunday (29).

In the absence of last year’s winner Julien Wanders, Nibret Melak appears to be the main favorite. The Ethiopian clocked a personal best of 27:26 in Laredo in March, one second outside the Houilles course record set by Wanders. Melak, who has a 5000m PB of 13:07.27, will be running in Houilles for the first time.

Morocco’s Hamza Lamqartass should be a threat as he has a lifetime best of 27:51, set in March. Albert Chemutai should also feature. The 20-year-old Ugandan, who placed 12th at this year’s World Cross, finished third in Houilles last year in a PB of 27:53.

Cornelius Kangogo is familiar to the race. Three times a winner in Houilles between 2013 and 2016, the Kenyan set his PB here in 2013. Last year the 26-year-old finished sixth in 28:10.

Felix Kipkoech will also be running on familiar roads. The Kenyan won the Boulogne-Billancourt Half Marathon, near Houilles, in a PB of 1:00:12 last month.

The field also includes Haftu Teklu of Ethiopia, who set his best of 28:10 in Houilles last year. He was faster on the track in June, clocking 27:30:88 in Nijmegen. Daniel Simiu Ebenyo has also showed good recent form as he set a personal best of 28:23 last month.

Others strong contenders include Yohans Kifle and Berhane Tesfay of Eritrea, and Ethiopia’s Ayenew Alemu Yismaw, who finished second in Langueux in 2018 in a PB of 28:27.

French eyes will turn to the rising star Jimmy Gressier, who clinched a third U23 title in a row at the European Cross Country Championships in Lisbon earlier this month. He’ll target a sub-28-minute time, as his 28:12 PB was set at last year’s event.

Benjamin Choquert will also be in the field one month after having clocking the marathon qualifying standard for the Olympics. He will be looking a sub-29-minute time.

The women’s race is expected to be fast throughout the three laps of 3.3km and features a duel between two top Kenyans.

Norah Jeruto, 24, is a steeplechase specialist and sits fifth on this year’s world list in that event, but she also recorded a strong 30:07 10km personal best in Prague in September. Gloria Kite, 21, ran 30:36 in Valencia last January.

Gete Alemayehu, who set a course record of 31:12 last year, will have a tough task in defending her title. The field also includes Nigsti Haftu Tesfay, who won the Corrida de Langueux in June.

French hopes will rest on Liv Westphal’s shoulders, who finished fifth at the recent European Cross Country Championships. She’ll attempt to improve her lifetime best of 32:35.

Eritrean born Efren Gidey, went from refugee to U20 podium at Euro Cross

The European Cross Country Championships took place in Lisbon, Portugal on Sunday, with Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen taking home gold in the 6.2K U20 race for the fourth straight year, and by a 38-second margin. Ayetullah Aslanhan of Turkey was second. But most astonishing was Eritrean-born Efrem Gidey, racing for Ireland for the first time, bringing home the bronze medal and contributing to his team’s fourth-place finish.

According to a report by the Irish news outlet RTÉ Sport, Gidey’s participation wasn’t assured until the last minute, due to visa issues. The athlete had spent six months in a refugee camp in Calais with his family before landing in Dublin in March, 2017. He runs with the Clonliffe Harriers, where he didn’t excel right away (small wonder, considering what he had been through, and that he arrived speaking no English), but soon found his niche. Earlier this year Gidey set a national record for Ireland of 14:34.22 in the senior boys’ 5,000m.

In the 10.2K senior men’s race, another Eritrean-born athlete, Robel Fsiha of Sweden, took gold. Aras Kaya of Turkey was second, and Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy was third. (Julien Wanders, pacer to Eliud Kipchoge at INEOS 1:59, finished just off the podium in fourth place. Filip Ingebrigtsen, last year’s champion, finished 12th. All three Ingebrigtsen brothers also ran as pacers for Kipchoge.)

In the 8.3K senior women’s race, Turkey’s Yasemin Can won gold for the fourth consecutive year. Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal of Norway took silver and Samrawit Mengsteab of Sweden won bronze.

In the 4.3K U20 women’s race, Nadia Battocletti of Italy won gold, Klara Lukan of Slovakia took silver and Mariana Machado of Portugal won bronze.

In the 8.3K U23 men’s race, Jimmy Gressier of France won gold, Elzan Bibic of Serbia took silver, and Abdessamad Oukhelfen of Spain took bronze. In the 6.3K U23 women’s race, Anna Emilie Møller of Denmark won gold, Jasmijn Lau of the Netherlands won silver and Stephanie Cotter of Ireland took bronze.

The course, which had a short (500m) loop and a longer 1,500m loop, featured some tight turns and some hills, but although conditions were overcast, it did not appear particularly muddy.