World 10,000m champion Jimmy Gressier will chase his first world record at the Urban Trail de Lille on 4 April.
Gressier already holds the European 5km record with 12:57 which he set in Lille last year but this time, the Frenchman is targeting the world record of 12:49 set by Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi in Barcelona in 2021.
For Gressier, this will be his first race since the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee on 10 January. Since then, the Frenchman has been training at altitude in South Africa and feels in shape to attack the record books early next month.
"I want to break the world record for the road 5km. I don’t know if I’ll succeed, but I know I’ll do everything I can to reach the very top. I’m careful about what I eat, I go to bed early, I stay well hydrated, and I think only about running. Nothing else can distract me! That’s my mindset. I’m chasing the holy grail,” said Gressier as quoted by RunIX.
The 5km line-up also includes Yann Schrub who should not be underestimated. Schrub finished under the previous European 5km record with 13:00 in the same race before gaining outright ownership of the European 10km record in Castellon last month, clocking 26:43 to shave two seconds from Andreas Almgren’s recently set mark and beat the Swede in the process.
Schrub showed his all-round versatility by winning bronze this weekend in the 3000m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun, the first global medal of his career so far.
World all-time road 5km list
12:49 - Berihu Aregawi (ETH) Barcelona 2021
12:50 - Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) Lille 2023
12:51 - Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) Monaco 2020
12:55 - Nicholas Kipkorir (KEN) Herzogenaurach 2022
12:57 - Jimmy Gressier (FRA) Lille 2025
12:57 - Santiago Catrofe (URU) Lille 2025
12:58 - Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH) Al Khobar 2024
13:00 - Sammy Kipketer (KEN) Carlsbad 2000
13:00 - Yann Schrub (FRA) Lille 2025
13:00 - Harbert Kibet (UGA) Tokyo 2025
13:00 - Waberi Igueh Hussein (DJI) Al Khobar 2025