European Athletics (EAA) – News – Britain’s Thompson clocks fastest 10,000m by a European since 2002

The 2010 European Athletics Championships 10,000m silver medallist Chris Thompson ran the fastest time over 25 laps of the track by a European runner for nearly nine years when he clocked 27:27.36 at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, California, on Sunday.

Thompson had Jon Brown’s British record of 27:18.14, set in 1998, as his target as he went to the start line but even though the 30-year-old runner fell just short, he still ran faster than any distance runner from continent has done since The Netherlands’ Kamiel Maase clocked 27:26.29 in 2002.

“The most important thing is that it makes it’s a second quicker than Mo (Farah, the 2010 European Athletics Championships 10,000m gold medallist), I’m now the third all-time Brit,” joked Thompson after the race, reflecting on his friendly rivalry with his compatriot.

“That’s what I had in my head with four laps to go. I’m chuffed, more chuffed with how I overall felt. There was a bit of surge-and-peak as we went round but it was beautiful, great conditions, a lot more enjoyable than last year (when Thompson ran 27:29.61).

“I finished a lot faster, It was good to feel the progression because you spend so long training, I’ve been off the track for so long and off racing for so long, It may have only been two seconds (of improvement) but it was a question of how it went and how it felt, so I’m chuffed and now looking forward to the season ahead,” Thompson told www.flotrack.com.

The challenge of going under 27:20 was made a little more difficult from the outset when the appointed early pace makers failed to keep up the tempo and 2000m was passed in 5:30, which put Thompson and the rest of the leading contenders 10 seconds outside their objective.

American 10,000m record-holder Chris Solinsky then tried to make up the difference and took the field through 3000m in 8:15 before dropping out just after the half way point, having taken a six-man leading pack to 5000m in 13:43.

With eight laps to go, Kenya’s Bedan Karoki sprinted to the front and put daylight between himself and the rest of his rivals. He was eight seconds in front at 8000m and went on to win in a world-leading 27:13.67 while Thompson finished strongly over the final laps to come home fourth.

France’s European 3000m steeplechase record holder and 2010 European Athletics Championships 3000m steeplechase silver medallist Bouabdellah Tahri ran 27:31.46 on his debut over the distance on the track to finish 12th.

The time makes him the third fastest Frenchman of all-time and could give him ambitions of chasing Antonio Martins’ national record of 27:22.28, which has been on the books since 1992.

European Athletics (EAA) – News