France’s Etienne Daguinos, 24, shaved three seconds off the European 10km record at the Urban Trail de Lille on Saturday (16) afternoon.
Daguinos defeated a strong and deep field with victory in 27:04 to claim ownership of the European record which was previously held by compatriot Jimmy Gressier with 27:07.
“I cannot believe it. Some people might have predicted it but I didn’t believe it. I knew that I was in good shape after my half marathon in Valencia [where he ran 59:46]. I wanted to run faster than 27:30...I am still in shock,” said Dagunios, who ran identical 5km splits of 13:32 to break the European record.
And his performance was not the only notable time by a European in Lille. World 1500m bronze medallist Narve Gilje Nordas finished fifth in 27:31 to break the Norwegian 10km record while Germany’s Mohamed Abdilaahi was ninth in 27:40, the fastest fastest time by a German in history.
Duarte Gomes also broke the long-standing Portuguese 10km record in 15th-place, clocking 28:07 to break the previous mark set by former world 10,000m record-holder Fernando Mamede all the way back in 1985 by four seconds.
In the women’s race, Finland’s Nathalie Blomqvist set yet another national record in seventh with 31:25, just ahead of former world 1500m champion Abeba Aregawi from Sweden who continues her comeback with an eighth-place finish in 31:30.