Klara Lukan on her way to a European 10km record in Laredo (© Juan Fernández de la Granja)
Slovenia's Klara Lukan broke the European record to win the women’s race while Ethiopia's Biniam Mehary dominated the men’s race at the 10km en Ruta Villa de Laredo, a World Athletics Label road race, in Laredo in Spain on Saturday (18).
Lukan became the first European woman to break 30 minutes for 10km on the roads, clocking 29:50 to improve on the area record of 30:07 set by Great Britain's Megan Keith in Castellón in February.
Mehary had the world record of 26:24 in his sights and while the temperature (16ºC) was perfect for racing, the wind hampered his efforts. He still won clearly in 26:55, the 19-year-old improving the PB of 28:26 he set in his only other 10km race so far, in Addis Ababa in 2024.
Perfectly paced by Spain’s José Ignacio Giménez, Lukan covered each kilometre under 3:00 and reached the 3km mark in 8:55. Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen was eight seconds behind her at that stage, while her compatriot Esther Pfeiffer was a further three seconds back.
The determined Lukan, who claimed European 10km bronze last year, reached halfway in 14:54 – well inside the required pace to beat Keith’s 30:07. By then, 2019 world 5000m bronze medallist Klosterhalfen was a distant second and she passed that point in 15:13, four seconds ahead of Pfeiffer.
Lukan managed to maintain her pace during the second half of the race, always tucked behind Giménez. By 8km the clock read 23:52 and it became clear that the European record was on the cards. The 25-year-old reached the finish line in 29:50 to shave 17 seconds from the previous area record, while Klosterhalfen secured the runner-up spot in in 30:37, improving her own German record of 30:46 set when she won in Laredo last year. Pfeiffer also dipped under the old German record, running 30:45 for third place.
“I’m over the moon,” said an ecstatic Lukan, whose time also beat the 30:05 achieved by Lonah Chemtai Salpeter in Tilburg in 2019 – a mark that previously topped the European all-time list but was not ratified as a European record. “Honestly, I came here very determined to break the 30-minute barrier and everything went according to plan. My pacemaker José Ignacio did a fantastic job, setting a steady cadence which I could follow throughout.
“It’s true that it was windy but fortunately I ran sandwiched between a group of male runners, so it didn’t affect me too much”.
Lukan now plans to return to her training base in Italy before racing over 10km in Manchester next month. She then targets the 10,000m at the European Championships in Birmingham and the half marathon at the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen.
Despite having a perfect build-up in Addis Ababa following his sixth-place finish at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee in January, Mehary could not get close to his goal of setting a world record.
Biniam Mehary on his way to victory in the Laredo 10km (© Juan Fernández de la Granja)
He was paced by Spain’s Adam Maijó and covered the opening kilometre in 2:33, but that proved too much for the pacesetter who dropped out at 2.5km. By then the lead group comprised only Mehary, his fellow Ethiopian and training partner Hagos Eyob, a 59:42 half marathon athlete, plus Puerto Rico’s Victor Ortiz, fresh from a 28:13 lifetime best in Castellón.
The latter moved to the front, acting as a second pacemaker trying to keep the rhythm alive, but some strong gusts of wind clearly hampered their efforts. Ortiz also dropped out of the race once he had led Mehary to the halfway point in 13:26. By then, Eyob ran six seconds behind and Great Britain’s Rory Leonard travelled a distant third in 13:53.
Running on his own for the second half of the race, Mehary managed to maintain a 2:40/2:42 per kilometre cadence. He built a huge gap on Eyob, who began to falter around the seventh kilometre and was reeled in by the Briton some 22 minutes into the race.
Mehary continued to show his majestic stride to the large crowd assembled but he had to settle for a PB of 26:55, finishing well clear of Eyob who was runner-up, exactly one minute in arrears. Leonard completed a classy podium in 27:57.
“I had prepared very well for this assault,” said Mehary. “I was confident of breaking the world record but it was not the ideal day, the wind hampered my performance clearly. I’m a bit disappointed right now but I’ll keep on training hard, thinking of my future goals. I’ll next run the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai over 5000m next month.”
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
Leading results
Women
1 Klara Lukan (SLO) 29:50
2 Konstanze Klosterhalfen (GER) 30:37
3 Esther Pfeiffer (GER) 30:45
4 María Forero (ESP) 31:17
5 Carla Gallardo (ESP) 31:45
Men
1 Biniam Mehary (ETH) 26:55
2 Hagos Eyob (ETH) 27:55
3 Rory Leonard (GBR) 27:57
4 Miguel Ángel Martínez (ESP) 28:01
5 Pasquale Selvarolo (ITA) 28:03
Watch the race again on World Athletics+
