Tokyo World Championships: Jimmy Gressier storms to a stunning 10,000m gold

His Diamond League win over 3000m was no fluke. After managing the race perfectly from start to finish, Jimmy Gressier claimed the world title over 10,000m on Sunday afternoon in Tokyo. A legendary achievement for the Boulogne-sur-Mer native, who won the biggest race of his career... so far. History is sometimes written in a single breath. This one belonged to a Frenchman charging down the final straight of a race that had entered the history books. The man from northern France emerged behind the African favourites to snatch the world title in a sprint, clocking 28:55.77. A breathtaking victory, ahead of Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha (28:55.83) and Sweden’s Andreas Almgren (28:56.02).

🗼 #WCHTokyo25 | 🚨 WORLD CHAMPIONNNN 🇫🇷

What on earth did he just do?? Jimmy Gressier is the 10,000m WORLD CHAMPION! INCREDIBLE 🤩

📺 Live stream: https://t.co/qEolLTnYnt pic.twitter.com/eWDKVLoINq

— francetvsport (@francetvsport) September 14, 2025

“ It’s a child’s dream come true,” Gressier said after his sensational victory. I’ve always believed that once an athlete steps onto the track, they can achieve great things. That has defined my career. Some people may have doubted my finishing speed, but I’ve always believed in myself. I said I was coming here to win a medal. On the final straight, I moved into third, then second, and finally the gold came. Jakob (Ingebrigtsen) told me I was training too hard. I made a few changes to my training to become more controlled. I had a lot of mental strength for the final lap, and that helped me today.” With this iconic title, the 28-year-old has given the French team its first medal of these Championships, already matching the total from the last two editions: the 4x400m relay silver in Budapest in 2023 and Kevin Mayer’s decathlon gold in Eugene in 2022. In the Tokyo night, the man from northern France was not just racing the clock. He was racing for history. And he caught it.

A tactical race, then total chaos

From the start of a 10,000m race run at a painfully slow tempo, the big names made their presence felt: Grant Fisher (8th in 28:57.85) and Oscar Chelimo (18th in 29:28.66) out front, Selemon Barega (6th in 28:57.21) lighting the fuse with 1,600m to go, and Japanese runners Jun Kasai and Mebuki Suzuki lifted by their home crowd, though they would finish 22nd and 20th respectively. Yet Jimmy’s 15:10 split at 5,000m pointed to a deceptively slow pace, ideal for the patient racers. In that setup, the Frenchman stayed under the radar, discreet but always well placed. At 7,000 m, he was among the leaders alongside American Grant Fisher and Sweden’s Andreas Almgren, before dropping back into the pack to catch his breath while staying in touch. When the Scandinavian and the Americans upped the pace at 8,000m, the Frenchman responded without ever cracking.

The money time: Barega believes, Jimmy strikes

With two laps to go, Gressier was third, tucked in behind opponents with more experience in this kind of finish. Barega and, above all, one of the pre-race favourites, Berihu Aregawi (12th in 29:02.02), took control just before the bell. Kejelcha waited, Almgren gritted his teeth. It looked like yet another African masterclass. But the final straight rewrote the script: Aregawi slowed and completely cracked. Jimmy spotted the opening and launched his decisive move. In a legendary sprint, he reeled in Kejelcha, held off Almgren’s charge and crossed the line first, six hundredths ahead of the 5000m world silver medallist. The stadium erupted, and France had another world champion in athletics. At last.

A northern hero with a huge heart

At 28, the boy from Boulogne-sur-Mer has delivered one of the greatest performances of his career. Already the French record-holder over 5000m and 10,000m, as well as the European record-holder for the road 5K (12:57), Gressier had started 2025 with a victory at the European Half Marathon Championships in Brussels. After a successful final training camp in Font-Romeu, he arrived in Tokyo with high ambitions. They have turned to gold. Historic.

A historic title for Europe... and France

With his victory, Jimmy Gressier becomes:

➜ The first Frenchman to become world champion over 10,000m,

➜ Only the third European to win gold over the distance, after Alberto Cova (1983) and Mo Farah (2013, 2015, 2017),

➜ The 12th world championship gold medal in French history, including individual and relay events,

➜ France’s ninth individual world champion after Marie-Jo Pérec (twice), Stéphane Diagana, Eunice Barber (twice), Ladji Doucouré, Teddy Tamgho, Pierre-Antoine Bosse, Yohann Diniz and Kevin Mayer (twice).

With defending king Joshua Cheptegei absent after choosing to prepare for the Amsterdam Marathon, Jimmy Gressier seized his opportunity. But he did more than benefit from the circumstances: he held the pace, won the sprint and proved that he now belongs among the world’s distance-running elite.

What next? The 5000m in his sights?

Having finished 13th in the same distance at the Olympics just over a year ago in 26:58.67, Jimmy Gressier has answered the doubters and just taken a decisive step forward. The man who kept saying he wanted to “establish himself in the world’s top eight” has done it with a bang. This gold medal opens up new possibilities: more titles, perhaps even an Olympic podium, and a leading role in the revival of French middle-distance running. Could he produce another shock on the 5000m next Sunday? First, he will have to get through the heats on Friday, September 19 at 1:05 p.m. French time. But now, nothing seems impossible.