New Europeans on Marathon Route, Half Marathon and 10K Premiere in Brussels

The best continent athletes on the marathon, half marathon and 10k gather this weekend in Brussels and Leuven (Belgium) To play in the first time as an independent route championship, the distances of the distance, in a competition where select athletes will also compete with famous corridors.

The half marathon will perform on Saturday And the marathon racing and 10k are Sunday.

French Jimmy Gressier begins as one of the favorites for half marathon. This year has already established two notes in Europe, one of 5,000 on the track (12: 54.92) in Boston in February and another 5 km with 12:57 in Lille in March.

GRESSIER rose to Brussels for half marathonDiscipline in which he graduated as a European leader at the World Cups in Riga in 2023, where he made 59:46, which remains his best personal brand.

In the Belgian capital, Gressier, copper to the Europeans of the Cross in 2021, He will look for his first fully individual gold medal before the major opposition of Spanish Carlos Mayowhich preceded him as a sub-23 European champion of 10,000 in 2017.

The Spanish PlusMarchist, with a better personal brand of 59:39 from Valencia 2023, is another favorite to come to the top of the podium although in a single breed this year, the eighth since he made the Spanish Championship of Cross, his physical state was unknown.

The opposite happens to another French, Valentin GondouinWith 1h00: 17 in the half marathon of Seville on January 27 he was a rival considered, such as the Norwegian Awet Nftalem Kibrab, accredited 1H00: 46 at the last half marathon in Barcelona in February.

The other candidates for Triumph are the Italians Yohanes Chiappinelli and Pasquale Savarolothat they will try to forget their countryman Yanganharan Cippa, the last continental champion.

In the female category the main favorite is Italian Nadia Battocletti, who arrives in Brussels sponsored twice as much as 5,000 and 10,000 conquered in the European track of Rome 2024, the Olympic silver at 10,000 of the Paris Games and the gold in Europe of the Cross of Antalya.

The two athletes who are willing to deal with it are the Slovenian Klara Lukan, with 30:26 in Castellón in February, and Dutch Diane, second in Europe of Rome 2024 to 10,000 meters and who, with a better personal brand of 30:29, is the second fastest trial.

Lobalu, favorite at 10K

The Dominic Lobalu won gold in 10,000 meters of Europeans of Rome 2024 and, from track to asphalt, he would look for the continental crown in Brussels, three months after staying in Valencia without a continental record at the hands of Swedish Andreas Almgren (26:53), not in Belgium.

Lobalu’s main rival could be French Yann Schrub, who won gold in the rain and mud on the cross of the Brussels 2023 and Acredit 27:58 on the route, though it was not ruled out that the Belgian Isaac Kimeli, encouraged by local fans, could also win, because he accumulated the full medal on European roads and crosses.

Two other possible medal candidates were midfielder Norde Gilje Nordas, who occupied the ninth area of ​​the European historical list of 10 km with a Norwegian Nor7:31, and the British Rory Leonard, at the U-23 Europe Valencia.

The experienced Spanish team, led by the European Champion of 5,000 in 2016, Ilias Fifa, and Juan Antonio ‘Chiki’ Pérez, with the best personal brand of 27:41 and 27:45, respectively, with Abdesssamad Oukhelfen, the third scorer of Spain of his Europeans team of Europeans of Cross 2024. surprise.

Among the women, the host country, Belgium, will have a great chance of winning both the individual levels and the teams the half marathon. The team was led by Juliette Thomas and the Olympic athlete of Paris 2024, Chloe Herbiet, with 1H09: 48 and 1H10: 04, respectively.

However, their likelihood of winning individual gold and teams depends on the career made of 10,000 meter European silver medal Diane Van, which stopped Chrono in the last half -york marathon in 1H08: 03.

The youngest athlete is the British Natasha Phillips, 20 years old and fourth to 5,000 of the U-20 European of 2023, to deal with the powerful Spanish team formed by the Meritxell Soler (1H10: 21), María José Pérez (1H10: 55) and Ikram Rharsalla (1H11: 05).

Teferi and Chemtai, Marathon favorites

The marathon route will expand from Brussels to Leuven, which begins in the middle of the Belgian capital before reaching the goal at the historic center of Leuven.

For the male marathon the main candidate is Maru Teferi, European runner -up in Munich 2022 and the world in Budapest 2023. The Israeli of Ethiopian Origin, 32 years old and national PlusMarchist (2H04: 44), will play its fourth marathon in eight months.

He will join his colleague Gashau Ayale, who won copper in Munich 2022 and has a personal brand 2H04: 53 in Seville 2024.

Of all the participants, Turkish Kigen Kigen özbilen, 39 and became European PlusMarchist, was the fastest, with a better brand in the Marathon 2H04: 16 in Valencia 2019. The Marathon of the Olympic Games of Paris 2024 was not finished but marked a time of 2H08: 36 in Doha Marathon in January.

Ibrahim Chakir, with 2H07: 32, was the only representative of Spain. It is twenty -thirds in the Budapest 2023 World Marathon and in the 34th position at the Paris Olympic Games of 2024.

In the female category, the favorite is the Israeli of Kenian Origin Canvas Chemtai salpeter, which, after a seven -pause, reached the event as the fastest European third in history behind the Dutch Sifan Hassan (2H13: 44) and Paula Radcliffe (2H15: 25) with a better personal brand of 2h17: 45.

That performance returned to 2020, but the Chemtai salpeter is still one of the most resistant resistance to the international scene. That is why, in case, the Spanish Majida Maayouf, nineteenth of the 2024 Paris Marathon, hopes to become Quito as it is accredited in 2H21: 01 the national record since Valencia 2023.

The Spaniards, if the three ends, left as great favorites in the team title along with the Trident generated by Maayouf, Fatima Ouhaddou Nafie and Esther Navarrete, who had their best personal brand in 2h24: 05 and 2H24: 40, respectively.

Belgium also wants to get to the podium with his fastest broker, Hanne Verbruggen, who just completed two Maayouf posts in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in the 19th place.