Yann Schrub ran a tactically perfect race to win inaugural 10km gold at the European Running Championships in Leuven on Sunday (13) morning in a lifetime best of 27:37.
This was Schrub’s second European title as a senior having previously won gold - also on Belgian soil - at the 2023 SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Brussels.
And Schrub also led France to team honours with his teammates packing brilliantly behind the individual winner. Etienne Daguinos, who briefly held the European record last year with 27:04, won individual silver in 27:46 with Fabien Palcau taking fourth in 28:05.
While France celebrated individual and team gold, there was yet another medal for the host nation as well with Isaac Kimeli - a medallist in years gone by at both the European Athletics Indoor Championships and the SPAR European Cross Country Championships - demonstrating his repertoire by winning bronze on the roads in 27:58.
From the medal-winning triumvirate, Daguinos and Kimeli took turns at the front while Schrub was happy to bide his time behind the leaders, waiting until the nine kilometre-mark to hit the front with keen enterprise.
And when Schrub moved into the lead, there was no response from either of his rivals. The 29-year-old moved away effortlessly to take the victory, opening up a winning margin of nine seconds over Daguinos with Kimeli hanging on to the bronze medal.
“I have two gold medals. It’s a very good day for me,” summed up the victorious Frenchman.
“Etienne and Isaac made the pace for me but it’s a game - it’s a championship and I just wanted to win, not make a time,” added Schrub, who has also won medals in the 10,000m at the last two editions of the European Athletics Championships.
However, one notable casualty in the race was the reigning European 10,000m champion Dominic Lobalu from Switzerland who stepped off the road in the eighth kilometre while he was in the chasing pack.
Behind France who dominated the team race with a cumulative time of 1:23:28 from their three scorers, Spain (1:24:55) - aided by top-10 finishes from Jesus Ramos (28:07) and Juan Antonio Perez (28:16) - came away with team silver with Kimeli leading Belgium (1:25:22) to team bronze ahead of Great Britain (1:25:43).