Jimmy Gressier hopes to "break his French record" at the Herculis meeting in Monaco

Nothing seems to be holding back the Boulogne native at the moment. The numbers speak for themselves. This year, the 28-year-old athlete has broken five of his personal bests, including three in the 5,000 meters alone , where he is expected tomorrow on the track at the Stade Louis-II in Monaco. The 5,000 meters indoors? The best time in Europe, stolen from Marc Scott by more than two seconds in Boston in February (12:54.92). The 5 kilometers on the road? Another continental record, beaten in March in Lille (12:57). The 5,000 meters? The best French time in history, 12:51.59, less than a month ago in Paris.

“To break my French record again”

Looking back, Jimmy Gressier analyzes this rise in power as a phenomenon of repetition. " I've matured enormously over this distance. In training, I've reached a milestone over the past three years, but the results weren't immediately visible. What makes the difference now is that I have more opportunities to run 5,000 meters than I did back then."

Will the middle-distance runner be able to improve on a time already beaten on June 20th? This will be the declared ambition of the recent winner of the Brussels half-marathon at the European Road Championships , a personal best (again) to boot (59'45''). "I ran my 5,000 in Paris in 12'51'' at 85%, and I hope to reach 100% in Monaco. Let's not lie to ourselves, the objective is to beat my French record again."

On the Rock, the Boulogne-sur-Mer native will be up against the cream of the crop in the world of the specialty. Among others, the Ethiopians Bekele, Kejelcha and Mehary, led by the bronze medalist at the Rio Olympics in the 5,000 meters, Hagos Gebrhiwet . The Swiss Dominic Lobalu , with whom Jimmy Gressier shared the European record in the 5 kilometers road race, will also be in the game.

Like the other disciplines at the Monaco meeting, the 5,000-meter field will be Olympic-level . Almost a godsend for the French runner. "I'm going to take risks without setting myself any limits. The race will determine my pace, but measuring myself against the best in the world makes you want to keep up with them. You still have to succeed, but today, I'm getting closer to their best times," says the European indoor record holder. He's still 15 seconds behind Hagos Gebrhiwet's best time (12:36.73).

His carefully laid out race plan

If he wants to further improve his reference time, the 13th-place finisher in the 10,000 meters at the Paris Games will have to start strong. Then, depending on events, he can hope to stay in contact with the leaders. That's the race plan established by his team. "I'm caught between two fires. Between my old level, that of a 5,000 meters in 13 minutes, and that of 12:40-45. I think it's better to let myself be pulled up by trying to follow the leading group as much as possible. After that, we'll see how long I can hold on. One thing is certain, I'll take the pack in front and not the one behind."

Jimmy Gressier will be able to give himself confidence by remembering that princely lands generally give him wings. It was in the streets of Monaco that he broke the European 5-kilometer road record for the first time in 2020. He claimed it again three years later by improving his time by 5 seconds, to 13:12. That same year, 2023, the Northerner put another French 5,000m record in oblivion at the Louis-II, setting a time of 12:56, which he has continued to improve ever since. "This year I can still rekindle good memories. So far, it's always been a success for me every time I've been there. It's always a pleasure to come back." His crazy streak is just waiting to live on.