World 10,000m champion Jimmy Gressier has been named as part of a strong French senior men’s team for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee on 10 January.
Gressier will be accompanied by 2023 SPAR European Cross Country Championships winner Yann Schrub and former European 10km record-holder Etienne Daguinos, both of whom also made the 5000m final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The team is completed by European half marathon bronze medallist Valentin Gondouin and Fabien Palcau, who was part of France’s bronze medal-winning team at the 2025 SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
Gressier, who was outsprinted by Thierry Ndikumwenayo for the senior men’s title in Lagoa on Sunday, will be making his first appearance at the World Cross Country Championships as a senior. His only prior appearance dates back to 2015 when he finished 80th out of 113 finishers in the U20 race.
But more than a decade later, Gressier has expressed intentions of making the podium in the team race next month. "My objective is to help the team win a medal at the World Cross Country Championships, even though I'm not ruling anything out individually. Just because I'm behind now doesn't mean I won't be at the front in a few weeks," he said as quoted by L'Equipe.
France will also be sending a mixed relay team featuring European indoor 1500m champion Agathe Guillemot and 2024 European 3000m steeplechase champion Alexis Miellet while their only other representative across the programme will be European U20 cross country bronze medallist Alois Abraham in the U20 race.
The full French team can be found here.