World 10,000m champion Jimmy Gressier is a late entrant into the French 10km Championships in Troyes on Sunday (10).
Gressier is aiming to win his fourth national title at this distance as well as secure the automatic qualifying time of 27:50 for the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships from 10-16 August.
"I'm thrilled to be running this Sunday in Troyes. This is a competition that is particularly close to my heart because I haven't forgotten that it was in the 10km that I won my very first national title in the senior category, in 2017 in Aubagne, as well as two other gold medals in 2019 in Canet and in 2022 at home in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
"Even when you're a world champion, the French championships remain a major event, where you want to shine while representing your club. In terms of time, the minimum objective will be to achieve the European Athletics qualifying standard for the 10,000m at the European Championships in Birmingham, which is set at 27:50," said Gressier.
In his most recent competitive appearance, Gressier smashed his European 5km record with a 12:51 performance in Lille to move to third on the world all-time list and come within two seconds of Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi’s world record.
Gressier briefly held the European 10km record with a 27:07 performance, also set in Lille in 2024.
Looking further ahead, Gressier has been named in the French team for the European 10,000m Cup in La Spezia, Italy on 23 May before he drops down in distance to contest the 1500m in Stockholm on 7 June when he is aiming to challenge the 3:30-barrier. He faces a world class line-up which also includes Sweden’s Andreas Almgren and Niels Laros from the Netherlands.
The line-up in the men’s race at the French 10km Championships also features fellow French international Simon Bedard. He was part of France’s gold medal-winning team in the 10km at the 2025 European Running Championships in Brussels-Leuven and has a 27:54 PB for this distance on the roads.
The fastest entrant for the women’s race is Mathilde Senechal who has a 32:17 PB.