Newly crowned European 10km champion Nadia Battocletti is set make another bid for glory on the roads at the Tokyo : Speed : Race on Saturday (3).
The Italian, who won her fourth European title in 10 months at the European Running Championships in Brussels-Leuven this month (13), will take on the 5km in the Japanese capital with an eye on the European record of 14:39 set by Diane van Es of Netherlands in Monaco on 9 February.
Sweden’s Sarah Lahti – sixth behind Battocletti in Brussels-Leuven – is also part of the elite field. Juliette Thomas, silver medallist in the women’s half marathon at the European Running Championships in front of her home Belgian crowd, is entered for the women's 10km.
Daguinos seeking to regain record
In the men’s races, Etienne Daguinos, 10km silver medallist in Brussels-Leuven to France teammate Yann Schrub, will attempt to reclaim the European record for the 10km, now held by Sweden’s Andreas Almgren of 26:53 set in Valencia on 12 January. The European challenge in the men’s 5km race will be led by Spain’s Adel Mechaal.
Battocletti, who won Olympic 10,000m silver and European 10,000/5000m gold last summer, plans to compete at the Rabat Diamond League on 25 May, at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting in Rovereto on 2 June and at the Rome Diamond League on 6 June, as revealed by FIDAL.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics