Top 10 French male and female marathoners (2025 rankings)

French marathon running is enjoying its strongest momentum in two decades, and national times have never been sharper. Over the past two seasons, French records have been shattered, sub-2:07 performances have become increasingly common among the men, and 2:24 is now within reach for several French women. These are more than statistics: they reflect a genuine rise in the standards of French distance running, driven by faster courses, emerging talent, the impact of super shoes and renewed Olympic ambitions.

✓ We have compiled the 10 fastest French marathon performances, for both men and women. It is a snapshot in numbers, but also a chance to take the pulse of a discipline enjoying a major surge in France.

➜ Here are the 10 fastest performances by French men and women:

Top 10 French men’s marathon performances

1 – Morhad Amdouni (Val d’Europe Montévrain Athlétisme) – 2:03:47 at the Seville Marathon (February 18, 2024)

2 – Mehdi Frère (Pays De Fontainebleau Athlétisme) – 2:05:41 at the Valencia Marathon (December 3, 2023)

3 – Nicolas Navarro (SCO Ste-Marguerite Marseille) – 2:05:52 at the Valencia Marathon (December 3, 2023)

4 – Benoît Zwierzchiewski (SCO Ste-Marguerite Marseille) – 2:06:36 at the Paris Marathon (April 6, 2003)

5 – Félix Bour (Racing Multi Athlon) – 2:06:45 at the Valencia Marathon (December 3, 2023)

6 – Driss El Himer (Olympique de Marseille Athlétisme) – 2:06:48 at the Paris Marathon (April 6, 2003)

7 – Abderrazak Charik (Racing Multi Athlon) – 2:07:19 at the Valencia Marathon (December 1, 2024)

8 – Patrick Tambwe Ngole (Lille Métropole Athlétisme) – 2:07:30 at the Tiberias Marathon (January 12, 2012)

9 – Hassan Chahdi (Al Voiron) – 2:07:30 at the London Marathon (April 21, 2024)

10 – Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse (Athlé 92) – 2:07:40 at the Seville Marathon (February 23, 2025)

Key takeaways

Benoît Zwierzchiewski’s record of 2:06:36, set in 2003, stood for 19 years, an exceptional lifespan in the pre-super-shoes era.
In 2022, Amdouni broke that mark in Paris, then smashed the record in Seville in 2023.
In February 2024, he ran 2:03:47 in Seville, lowering the record once again.

Top 10 French women’s marathon performances

For years, French women’s marathon running was defined by times above 2:28. That changed in the early 2010s with the emergence of Christelle Daunay, followed by Méline Rollin, Manon Trapp and Mekdes Woldu establishing themselves as the new benchmarks.

1 – Mekdes Woldu (Entente Franconville Césame Val-d’Oise) – 2:23:13 at the Barcelona Marathon (March 16, 2025)

2 – Manon Trapp (Entente Savoie Athlé) – 2:23:36 at the Seville Marathon (February 23, 2025)

3 – Méline Rollin (GRAC Athlétisme) – 2:24:12 at the Seville Marathon (February 18, 2024)

4 – Christelle Daunay (SCO Ste-Marguerite Marseille) – 2:24:12 at the Paris Marathon (April 11, 2010)

5 – Melody Julien (Association Multisports Montredonnaise) – 2:25:00 at the Valencia Marathon on December 3, 2023

6 – Clémence Calvin (Martigues Sport Athlétisme) – 2:26:28 at the Berlin European Championships Marathon (August 12, 2018)

7 – Fadouwa Ledhem (Racing Multi Athlon) – 2:25:47 at the Valencia Marathon (December 3, 2023)

8 – Chantal Dallenbach (Club d’Athlétisme à La Possession) – 2:28:27 at the Paris Marathon (April 7, 2002)

9 – Anaïs Quemener (La Meute Running) – 2:28:43 at the Seville Marathon (February 18, 2024)

10 – Corine Raux (Endurance 72) – 2:28:48 at the Paris Marathon (April 10, 2005)

Key points

Christelle Daunay defined the 2000s and 2010s, progressing steadily until she set her record in 2010.
For 14 years, no one ran faster, until the new generation led by Méline Rollin, Manon Trapp and Mekdes Woldu between 2024 and 2025.
Mekdes Woldu set the new French record in Barcelona on March 16, 2025, just 21 days after her French teammate Manon Trapp ran 2:23:38 in Seville on February 23, 2025.

This top 10 is not set in stone. It reflects a French marathon scene in rapid transition, with one benchmark after another falling. Behind the numbers are athletes, individual journeys, bold bets on fast overseas courses and countless hours of work away from the spotlight.

French marathoners are giving us plenty to dream about. Most recently, Mekdes Woldu claimed the national record in 2:23:13 on March 16, having already held the French half-marathon record and now adding the 10K mark as well. The ASICS athlete dethroned Manon Trapp, who had set a new record three weeks earlier in Seville. Those performances point to an exciting future for French women’s marathon running. And the men are not done fighting either, racing at close to 20 km/h, the equivalent of sub-2:07 marathon times.