Jimmy Gressier (born 4 May 1997) is a French middle- and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. He won gold medals in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

and

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

at the 2019 European Under-23 Championships. Gressier claimed four individual medals at the European Cross Country Championships, including three U23 titles. He is the European record holder for the 5 km road race.

European 5 km road record

Jimmy Gressier held European 5 km road race record of 13:18 from February 2020 until April 2022, when Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa set a new continental best mark of 13:14. On 12 February 2023, Gressier regained his record at the Monaco Run – 5 km Herculis with a time of 13:12.

Miscellaneous

Gressier is known for race finish celebrations. At the 2018 edition of the European cross country while in first place at the end of the U23 race he attempted a football player like knee slide but ended up falling flat on his face as he crossed the line. At the 2019 edition of the same race Gressier was so far clear of the other competitors that he walked across the line. At the 2019 French Cross Country Championships, Gressier began slapping hands with the crowd and high-fived a mascot before looking back to discover that he wasn’t leading as big a margin as he thought and had to sprint for the finish. At the French Cross Country Championships in March 2023, he celebrated by eating a crepe before the finish line. He attempted, unsuccessfully, to feed some of his victory crepe to second-place finisher Markus Georger, who declined. He then offered some to third-place Fabien Palcau, who happily accepted. He celebrated his victory in the half marathon at the 2025 European Running Championships in April 2025, by hurdling over the victory tape.

Personal life

He lived in

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

in Northern France and played football as well as competing in athletics as a teenager. In 2015, Gressier was selected to play for a football team representing France at the World Schools Football Cup in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, as well as being selected for the Junior Cross-Country World Championships in China. However, it became difficult to pursue both and he stopped football at the age of 17 years-old.

Achievements

International competitions

Personal bests

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

– 1:54.33 (

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

2017) *

1000 metres The 1000 metres, 1 kilometer run, or 1K run is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. It consists of two and a half laps around an outdoor 400 m track, or five laps around an indoor 200 m track. The 1000 ...

– 2:24.84 (

Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise (, literally ''Saint-Pol on Ternoise''; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Saint-Po-su-Térnoèse'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in northern France. It is the seat of th ...

2017) *

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

– 3:35.97 (

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

2021) ** 1500 metres indoor – 3:37.41 (

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

2022) *

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

– 7:53.81 ( Montgeron 2018) ** 3000 metres indoor – 7:39.70 (

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

2021) *

– 12:54.97 (

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

2024) ** 5000 metres indoor - 12:54.92 (

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

2025) *

– 26:58.67 (

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

2024) * 3000 m steeplechase – 8:24.72 ( Décines 2020) ;Road * 5 kilometres – 13:12 (

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

2023) * 10 kilometres – 27:40 (

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gressier, Jimmy 1997 births Living people French male middle-distance runners French male long-distance runners Sportspeople from Boulogne-sur-Mer Athletes from Pas-de-Calais Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games competitors for France Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for France 21st-century French sportsmen Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics