Eilish McColgan set a new women’s European 10km record in Valencia, just seven days after her previous record was broken by Belgian runner Jana van Lent.
The 35-year-old Briton knocked three seconds off Van Lent’s time by winning the Valencia Ibercaja on Sunday in a time of 30 minutes and seven seconds.
Record turnaround
McColgan had held the record for more than three years after setting a time of 30:19 in Manchester in 2022. However, that mark was lowered to 30:10 by Van Lent in Nice on 4 January.
Before that, Great Britain’s Paula Radcliffe had held the women’s European 10km record for almost 20 years after clocking 30:21 in Puerto Rico in February 2003.
Men’s event record
Sweden’s Andreas Almgren also set a new European record in the men’s race, finishing in 26:43 to win the event in Valencia.
He bettered his own previous best time, which had also been set on the same course, by nine seconds.
Fast course reputation
The Valencia 10km course is known for its speed, with world records for both men and women also set there.
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei holds the men’s world record of 26:38, while Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich set the women’s world record of 28:46 on the same course.
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