France's Jimmy Gressier will be hoping to carry on his record-breaking form into the half marathon at the inaugural edition of the European Running Championships in Brussels-Leuven on 12-13 April.
The European Running Championships will be streamed live from start to finish with English-language commentary on the European Athletics website.
Already this year, Gressier has set two European records over the same distance. He broke the European indoor 5000m record with 12:54.92 in Boston in February before decimating the European 5km record which he held jointly with European 10,000m champion Dominic Lobalu at 13:12 with 12:57 in Lille in March.
The French athlete will be stepping up in distance this weekend to tackle the half marathon, the distance at which he finished as leading European at the inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga in 2023 in 59:46 which remains his lifetime best at the 13.1-mile distance.
Gressier won three successive individual and team gold medals at U23 level at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships between 2017-2019 along with a 5000/10,000m double at the 2019 European Athletics U23 Championships.
However, Gressier is yet to add a senior individual gold medal to his CV. He won bronze on his senior debut behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the 2021 SPAR European Cross Country Championships before two near misses in the 10,000m at the European Athletics Championships, placing fourth and fifth respectively in 2022 and 2024.
Mayo could be the main threat
If he is fit and in form, Spain’s Carlos Mayo, who preceded Gressier as European U23 10,000m champion in 2017, could present a significant threat. He is the national record-holder with a lifetime best of 59:39 from Valencia 2023 which makes him the fastest entrant based on lifetime bests.
But with only a single competitive outing so far this year, placing eighth in the Spanish Cross Country Championships, his form is rather difficult to gauge heading into Saturday’s (12) race in Leuven.
However, clearly in form is Gressier’s French teammate and training partner Valentin Gondouin who clocked 60:17 in placing third in the Seville Half Marathon on 25 January. He was also a creditable tenth in the 10,000m at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome.
Also, in a power-packed French team which must fancy their chances in the team competition, is Bastien Augusto, who set a lifetime best of 60:18 in Valencia last October.
Another name to watch is Norway’s Awet Nftalem Kibrab, who was eighth over 5km at the World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia in 2023. He has a recently-set lifetime best of 60:46 from the Barcelona Half Marathon in February.
Strong Italian contingent on show in Leuven
The big Italian hopes are Yohanes Chiappinelli and Pasquale Selvarolo in the absence of 2024 European half marathon champion Yemaneberhan Crippa.
The former has started to find his niche on the roads having first established his reputation on the track in the 3000m steeplechase. A European U20 and European U23 champion in the steeplechase, Chiappinelli also won bronze at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin.
More recently he has turned to the roads, clocking a half marathon personal best of 60:50 in Valencia last October and an Italian record in the marathon of 2:05.24 in the same Spanish city in December.
Selvarolo was sixth in the half marathon at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, four places ahead of Chiappinelli, and with a lifetime best of 60:32 is another likely contender.
Efrem Gidey leads the Irish challenge. He recently set an Irish 10,000m record of 27:26.95 in San Juan Capistrano in California on 29 March while his lifetime best over the half marathon distance is 60:51 set in Copenhagen last year.
The home favourite is two-time national champion Simon Debognies. In March, he defended the title he won last year in a personal best of 61:02 and with a lift from home support, could contend. He is a 5000m silver medallist from both the Eskilstuna 2015 European Athletics U20 Championships and Bydgoszcz 2017 European Athletics U23 Championships.
Entries are still open for 10km, half marathon and marathon events for recreational runners providing a unique opportunity to run with the elite athletes for the first time ever at a European Athletics Championships.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics