France’s Jimmy Gressier and Slovenia’s Klara Lukan have been voted men’s and women’s Athlete of the Month for April 2026.
Five female and five male athletes were nominated for the accolade based purely on their exploits throughout the month with voting taking place across the week on the European Athletics website.
Lukan broke the European 10km record to follow Keely Hodgkinson, who had taken the women’s title two months in a row, while Gressier succeeded Simon Ehammer who broke the world indoor record in the heptathlon in March.
Lukan smashes European 10km record in Laredo
Lukan made history as the first European woman to break the 30 minute-barrier on the roads over 10km with a victory in Laredo.
She broke Megan Keith’s recently set European record of 30:07 to lower the record to 29:50 on 18 April.
The Slovenian, in fact, became the fourth woman to break the record this year as women’s road running continues to soar.
Through 5km she was well under pace to break the European record, clocking 14:54, and remarkably managed a near-identical second 5km split, finishing the second half of the race in 14:56.
On breaking the European record
“When I saw the result, I cried with happiness. This is a historic feat, I am the first from Europe to run below the magic mark. I did what I had imagined and what I had planned with coach Tevz Korent, who believed in me. He had told me some time ago that I could run the European record, that I was ready for it, and that is what happened," Lukan as told STA.
On being voted Athlete of the Month
"I am extremely happy and honoured that I have been selected as European Athletics Athlete of the Month for April.
"April was just a dream come true for me because breaking the European record and becoming the first European woman to run under 30 minutes for 10k is something I will never forget. I still remember the moments when I crossed the finish line and saw the time and it was simply amazing."
Gressier sets European 5km record
World 10,000m champion, Gressier, shattered his own European 5km record in 12:51 on 4 April while narrowly missing the world record by just two seconds.
His win on home soil, in Lille, came after a surge in the last kilometre having been still sat within a sizeable leading group at the 2.5km checkpoint.
Gressier took the win over Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune, who finished in 12:54, followed by fellow Frenchman Yann Schrubb in 12:56, which was also faster than the previous European record.
The final stretch you could see Gressier checking his watch, grimacing with the prospect of a world record to his name.
But despite his last kilometre split of roughly 2:26, Gressier fell just shy in his first race back in France since taking gold at the Tokyo world championships.
On the preparing for the race after Tokyo
“It was an incredible race. But to be honest, I knew Yann [Schrub] was in top form whereas I had a lot of trouble recovering from the emotions after the World Championships. I rode that title for two months, I felt untouchable, mentally strong, and then after Christmas, after eating a lot of chocolate, I hit a physical wall. The emotional comedown was very difficult to manage.
"I managed to keep my head down, cancel competitions, question myself, eat vegetables every night - it wasn't easy. That is to say I put in a lot of effort these last five weeks because I knew Yann was in top form. I take my hat off to him," he told L’Equipe.