«In shock», Étienne Daguinos had a hard time achieving the performance he had just achieved this Saturday afternoon during the 10 kilometers in Lille. The Frenchman won in 27'04 and improved the European record, previously held by Jimmy Gressier, by three seconds.
The 24-year-old Frenchman took off after the seventh kilometer and did not slow down to finish in a record time, two weeks after setting his personal best at 27'49 during the 10 kilometers in Bordeaux. The week before the event, he had won the third best French half-marathon time in 59'46, in Valencia.
“I had legs of fire”
The day before the race, Étienne Daguinos had stated that he intended to start on bases lower than 27'30. “ There is great organization, I know the course, it's rolling, we can go through the turns at full speed and then Jean-Pierre Watelle always climbs big plateaus, so there will be density”he explained.
« I can't believe it, some predicted this time to me but I didn't believe it. I knew I had very good legs at the Valencia semi. We came to do less than 27'30 and in the end in the peloton it was going by itself. I was instructed not to go faster than 13'36 (at 5km, editor's note). I'm still in shock, it's a consecration “, he confided after crossing the line, reports Stadion.
Last March, Northerner Jimmy Gressier had already achieved an exceptional performance in Lille, winning in 27'07.
