Titled in Belgium last year, the French athlete announced that he will compete in the race in Antalya next December. Unlike his compatriot Jimmy Gressier.
Yann Schrub, who last year became the first Frenchman to be crowned European cross-country champion, announced on Wednesday that he would defend his title in December in Antalya (Turkey), where he will have to face a return to the plowing of Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen, king of the discipline.
«I will be present at the European Cross Country Championships on December 8 in Türkiye», indicated the 28-year-old Lorraine athlete, third Frenchman on Sunday in the cross-country selection organized in Allonnes (Sarthe), a result which he considered disappointing. “There is a small percentage of chances of an individual podium of course, but it exists so you have to try to avoid regretting anything.», added on Instagram Schrub, who says he wants to align himself with “pleasure races» for the post-Olympic season.
Last year in Belgium, Yann Schrub became the first Frenchman in history to be crowned European cross-country champion (first edition in 1994). He then followed up with a good summer season by becoming European vice-champion in the 10,000 m and taking 12th place in the Olympic 5,000 m in Paris in August (retiring from 10,000 m).
Gressier absent, Ingebrigtsen present
The French men’s cross-country team, whose official selection has not yet been published, is aiming for the team coronation in Turkey which eluded it last winter. However, she will have to do without Jimmy Gressier, winner of the selection cross on Sunday but who has decided to skip the competition, preferring to devote himself to road races this winter.
The European cross-country will also be marked this year by the return of Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who decided to skip this annual meeting last year to devote himself to his Olympic objectives.
After the Olympics, with 5,000m gold up for grabs, the 24-year-old Norwegian wants to get his hands back on a title that never escapes him when he starts. He won as a senior in 2021 and 2022, after four consecutive youth crowns (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019).
