Thunderous return for Jimmy Gressier.
For his first race of the year, in front of a supportive audience, the 26-year-old Frenchman won the 10 km organized in Lille this Sunday in a record time of 27′07″.
This is quite simply the best European time in history, which since 2020 has been held by the Franco-Swiss Julien Wanders in 27 minutes and 13 seconds.
At the same time, Gressier therefore signed the new French record in the discipline.
“I understood that I had no right to lose, I felt that I was at home,” smiled the Northerner into the organizers' microphone after the finish.
For everyone in the audience, I had to win.
Before entering the final straight, I told myself that I had to be strong.
» Thanks to what he describes as a “dream field”, Gressier was able to maintain a very high pace to finally get rid of the Kenyan Jacob Krop in the very last straight.
“The reward for a lot of work”
“In my head, I was only positive, I told myself that nothing could happen to me,” he added.
I won the race and I'm really happy, it's the reward for a lot of work with my staff.
I think I'm a strong man mentally, I don't give up.
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Finalist of the last World Track Championships over 5,000 m, Jimmy Gressier should be one of the French people to follow this summer during the Olympic Games, but he is keeping in the back of his mind the possibility of beating his record again over 10 km.
“My dream is to one day go under 27 minutes,” he concluded after the race.