Weariness does not reach Nicolas Navarro. For his fourth marathon in a year, the 31-year-old Frenchman accelerated again this Sunday near Seville (Spain). Run in optimal conditions (about ten degrees, overcast sky, little wind), the race was won by Ethiopian Gadisa Birhanu Shumie in 2h4’59”. In the leading group until the 30th kilometer, Nicolas Navarro finally crossed the line in eighth position in 2h6’45”.
Long on the basis of Morhad Amdouni’s French record (2h5”22 in 2022), Navarro, who was returning from an internship in Kenya, still improved his personal record – which he had just beaten in Valencia last December in 2h7’1” – to become the third Frenchman in history over the distance just ahead of Driss El Himer (2h6’48” in 2003).
Fifth in the European Championships in Munich in August (despite a fall) in 2h10’41”, Navarro completes a gargantuan sequence since he was already there in Seville last year for, at the time, already his personal best (2h8’30”).
Already qualified for the World Championships in Budapest (August 19-27), the Frenchman is also in the top of the basket for the Olympic Games in Paris having already achieved the minima twice set by World Athletics (2h8’10” ), even if the terms of selection of the FFA have not been officially revealed.
