Belgium’s Jana Van Lent smashed the European 10km record with victory at the Prom Classic 10km in Nice, France on Sunday (4) morning.
Van Lent stopped the clock at 30:10, breaking Paula Radcliffe’s long-standing European 10km record in a mixed race of 30:21 which was set in 2003 in the build-up to the London Marathon where she broke the world record with 2:15:25.
Van Lent set out with real intent, passing the 5km mark in 14:42, one of the fastest ever times set by a European in a standalone 5km race.
And while Van Lent slowed somewhat in the second half, the Belgian was still rewarded with a sizeable European record of 30:10, shaving 11 seconds off Radcliffe's mark.
Alessia Zarbo and Anaelle Guillonnet, both of whom were part of France's silver medal-winning team at the 2025 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, finished second and third in 31:12 and 31:39 respectively while 20-year-old Gaston Rohmer won the men's race in 28:28.
Van Lent is one of Europe’s most improved distance runners of the last 12 months. She won individual and team gold at the European 10,000m Cup in Pacé in May and finished her season with a fourth-place finish at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships, leading Belgium to a historic team gold.
On the track, Van Lent also had the distinction this summer of becoming the first Belgian to break the 15 minute-barrier for the 5000m, eventually lowering the national record to 14:37.47.
Great Britain's Eilish McColgan still holds the European 10km record in a women's only race with 30:19 from the 2022 Great Manchester Run.
The fastest ever 10km set a European remains the 30:05 set by Lonah Chemtai Salpeter in Tilburg in 2019. However, that mark was not ratified for record purposes.
Full results here.