ASICS Festival of Running: records broken

ASICS
is happy to share the results of the elite competition of its first Festival of Running in Paris, which involved runners and athletes from around the world to demonstrate the power that running has to free the mind.

Ethiopian Likina Amebaw won the mixed 10k race, beating her personal best by more than a minute with a result of 29:56. Compatriot Jemal Yimer confirmed his personal best at 27:43 in the men’s 10k. Hagos Gebrhiwet (Ethiopia) clocked 13:24 in the men’s 5k and Caroline Nyaga (Kenya) finished first in the mixed 5k in 14:40.

Out of all the elite athletes, 3 set national records and 20 broke their personal best. The results have all been ratified by World Athletics. Nadia Battocletti set a new Italian record on the 10k at 31:19 and Mohamed Ismael from Djibouti broke the national record on the 5k by 2 seconds (13:32); Australia’s Julia Mayer instead set the national record on the 10k at 32:28, while Cam Levins equaled the Canadian 10k result with a superlative 28:11.

More than 100 athletes, including Italians Nadia Battocletti, Pietro Riva, Ludovica Cavalli and Sara Nestola, gathered to run 5 and 10 km, starting and finishing at Palais Royal. On a 2.5-kilometer course, the elite runners took on the Parisian streets, finding their speed , lighting up the city of lights and kicking off the three days of excitement-filled running. The races attracted a crowd of running enthusiasts and local crews who gathered in town for the Marathon on Sunday, April 7.

All athletes wore ASICS’ new Metaspeed Paris line, which includes the Metaspeed Sky Paris and Metaspeed Edge Paris shoes. The shoes are the result of a rigorous research and development process, conducted by the ASICS Institute of Sport Science, which involved numerous third-party testers and more than one hundred elite athletes around the world.

The winners

Jermal Yimer, Ethiopia – Men’s 10k race 27:43

Likina Amebaw, Ethiopia – Women’s 10k race 29:56

Hagos Gabrhiwet, Ethiopia – Men’s 5k race 13:24

Caroline Nyaga, Kenya – Women’s 5k race 2:40 p.m.

Lord Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics, said, “It was an exciting evening of racing, and our continued partnership with ASICS brought an array of outstanding athletes-from youth to elite-to the streets of Paris. ASICS created an unforgettable event, demonstrating the uplifting power of running, commitment to the sport and the running community as we look forward to a great year for the city .”

Olivier Mignon, Director of Sports Marketing, ASICS Global, said, “Our unique Festival of Running showcases what running can do, uniting runners of all abilities and levels, projecting positivity and lifting spirits. Our athletes achieved extraordinary results to open the weekend, including the performance of Nadia Battocletti who set a new Italian record in the 10 km, with a time of 00:31:19. We are proud of the achievements of our team, which shows how running has the power to free the mind.”