The European Athletics Road Championships, Day 1, The Half Marathon

The results of the European Running Championships  in Brussels, Belgium, were

Women’s Half Marathon

1 Chloe Herbiet (Belgium) 1:10.43

2 Juliette Thomas (Belgium) 1:10.57

3  Sara Nestola (Italy) 1:11.26

The team winners were not surprisingly Belgium from Spain and Italy.

Chloe Herbiet said afterwards: “I can’t believe it. I approached the finish line and was constantly looking behind. It’s a lot of emotions right now. I am really proud of myself because I have put in the work during the whole race. I wanted to show today that I have the talent and that I won’t quit. This victory is also a beautiful chapter that closes. I have trained on my own the last months. But I also know that all my past has formed me to be the athlete I am today. I wanted to close it off in style and show that, on my own or accompanied, what I love most is running. It was incredible to run in front of a home crowd. If I am European Champion today it’s also thanks to the crowd that gave me wings. The most difficult for me was to arrive here at the Europeans ahealthy and without injury. And that happened so I could run freely today”.

Men’s half marathon

1 Jimmy Gressier  (France) 59:45

2 Awet Nftalem Kibrab  (Norway)  1:01:08

3 Valentin Gondouin (France) 1:01.54

The team competition related in a win for France from Spain and Italy.

Gressier said of his win: “I felt very good during the race. The goal was to go out on my own to let go of the competitors as soon as possible to control the race in front. This season I have achieved all my goals. Now it’s time to enjoy those results this afternoon with my family. We will focus on the next races after my holidays. I haven’t run a half marathon since 2023, it’s the third one of my career. I was delighted to run that distance again, it’s a distance I really appreciate. It feels quite easy for me because we run in a good pace that’s quite comfortable, it’s just a bit long. I am very satisfied of this performance today. I am not planning to run much more half marathons anytime soon. I just wanted to qualify for the World Road Running Championships”.