Jimmy Gressier said it was a "dream come true" as he became the world 10,000m champion in a thrilling finish at the World Athletics Championships on Sunday (14).
In brutal, humid conditions, the French athlete got the better of Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha in a sprint to the line, becoming the first athlete from France to win a world medal of any colour in the event.
There was also a richly-deserved bronze for Sweden’s Andreas Almgren, fourth in four European finals indoors and outdoors, finally getting his hands on a major medal.
Severe conditions
There was an understandably pedestrian pace in severe conditions in the National Stadium and with six laps to go, Almgren took on the pace with six laps to go.
Although some athletes dropped off, there were still thirteen athletes in contention at the bell, including Gressier and Spain’s European 10,000m bronze medallist Thierry Ndikumwenayo.
It looked like Almgren might get devoured by the pack, but having broken the European 5000m record earlier this year, he had measured his attack well and still had something in reserve.
Gressier, winner of the half marathon at the European Running Championships earlier this year, had stayed well in touch with the lead throughout, without ever going in front.
In the closing straight, Kejelcha kicked clear and seemingly bound for gold, as Almgren dug deep for a medal. But Gressier bustled his way through a group that included Tokyo Olympic champion Selemon Berega, USA’s Nico Young and Kenya’s Ishmael Kipkurui and past Almgren.
Then he began to catch Kejelcha and took it on the line by 0.06 in 28:55.77. Almgren grabbed bronze in 28:56.02.
"I believed in myself"
"This is a child's dream come true. I always believed that an athlete, once he steps on the track, can achieve great things," said the thrilled French athlete afterwards.
"This is what has characterised my career. Some may have doubted my finish, but I always believed in myself. I said I would run here for a medal. On the home stretch, I moved to third, then second and then gold. Jakob (Ingebrigtsen) told me I was training too hard.
"I made a few changes to my training, to be more controlled. I had a lot of mental energy for the final lap. and it helped me today."
"It really means a lot"
Almgren was also satisfied to win bronze. "At four European championships I placed fourth in four different events, so it really means a lot to finally win a medal," he said.
"I think I could go for the gold if the race was a bit quicker, although I worked hard on my finish kick over the last month. This season I didn't have many races. I finally didn't have any injury issues. There were many ups and downs in my career.
"I played football as a teenager, and after only one year of track and field training I ran 800m in 1:45 as a junior.
"Then injuries stopped me and after a while I switched to longer distances. Last year I missed the Olympics because of a stress fracture in my tibia. I have a world championships medal. I haven't competed in the Olympics yet so Los Angeles 28 is a big goal for me."