{"id":1040007559,"date":"2025-09-14T16:53:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T15:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/?p=1040007559"},"modified":"2025-09-15T03:49:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T02:49:08","slug":"jimmy-gressier-storms-to-historic-world-10000m-title-in-tokyo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/news\/jimmy-gressier-storms-to-historic-world-10000m-title-in-tokyo-1040007559\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Gressier storms to historic world 10,000m title in Tokyo"},"content":{"rendered":"

French athlete becomes first non-African-born man to win a global men's 10,000m title in 41 years.<\/p>\n

Until now, Jimmy Gressier was perhaps best known for his flamboyant finish line celebrations and his misjudged face plant into the mud at the 2018 Euro Cross which went viral.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I will be better known in future for being a world champion,\u201d he told AW<\/em> on Sunday after sprinting to victory in the men\u2019s 10,000m at the World Championships in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

In a slow race in warm and humid conditions on Sunday (Sept 14), the 28-year-old had the punchiest finish to out-kick Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia and Andreas Almgren of Sweden, the latter having led during the final laps.<\/p>

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Clocking 28:55.77, it was easily the slowest winning time in this event in World Champs history. The 2023 final won by Joshua Cheptegei was more than a minute quicker, for example, with Kenenisa Bekele\u2019s championship record from 2003 more than two minutes faster.<\/p>\n

Not that Gressier cared. His post-race grin was as wide as the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es as he proudly wore his medal through a marathon session of interviews.<\/p>\n

Gressier created history, too, in becoming the first non-African-born man to win a global 10,000m title since Alberto Cova of Italy at the 1984 Olympics.<\/p>\n

Gressier\u2019s last lap was also just as exciting as Cova\u2019s memorable last-gasp victory in the 10,000m at the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki in 1983.<\/p>

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Jimmy Gressier (Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like Cova in 1983, Gressier was seemingly out of contention coming into the home straight. Cova came from fifth to first in the last 100m, but Gressier was in sixth entering the final straight before squeezing through the inside of Americans Grant Fisher and Nico Young and then passing Almgren and Ethiopians Selemon Barega and Kejelcha.<\/p>\n

In Tour de France parlance, Gressier would surely be described as a puncheur<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Finishing almost as quickly as Gressier, Ishmael Kipkirui of Kenya surged through to fourth place, with Young finishing fifth, Barega sixth, Edward Kurgat seventh and Fisher eighth.<\/p>\n

After 25 laps of cagey tactics and occasional surges of activity, it came down to a final sprint that was every bit as exciting as the world 100m finals that took place a few minutes later.<\/p>

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The 57,528 crowd, which included a certain Usain Bolt, were delighted as well, whereas the interest around the planet was huge as well if World Athletics crashing website is anything to go by. Gressier is a popular athlete and clearly in fine form as his build-up to these championships included victory in the Diamond League 3000m final in Zurich at the end of last month.<\/p>\n

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Jimmy Gressier (Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"This is a child's dream come true,\" he said. \"I always believed that an athlete, once he steps on the track, can achieve great things.<\/p>\n

\"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.<\/p>\n

\"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.\"<\/p>\n

Gressier also had the distinction of becoming the first athlete sponsored by Kiprun to win a world title. The growing shoe brand, which is part of the Decathlon sports shop empire, has a special part in Gressier\u2019s heart because it originates from northern France and he used to visit the shop as a child.<\/p>\n

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(Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ultimately, Gressier\u2019s rivals played into his hands. The first mile was a go-slow 5:17 and it barely picked up until the final hectic stages. Kejelcha will especially feel he missed an opportunity to win his first global title. The tall Ethiopian is the perennial 'nearly man' and this was his final track championships before he moves more seriously on to the roads, although he is still hopeful of racing the 5000m later this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started too early a little bit,\u201d Kejelcha said.\u00a0 \u201cMy coaches told me, wait for 200m to go, but I started at 300m.\u00a0 This is why I lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

He could face Gressier again there in future, as the Frenchman\u2019s stock when it comes to his marathon potential will have risen a lot after this golden performance.<\/p>\n