Rory Leonard breaks the British 10K record in Valencia
This year’s Valencia 10K was a roaring success for Rory Leonard. Soaring to a finish time of 27:38 on the famously flat streets of the Spanish city on Sunday (12 January), Leonard rewrote the history books to become the fastest-ever Brit to run 10K on the road.
Thanks to this list-topping run in Valencia – which placed him 15th overall – Leonard eclipsed the previous British men’s 10K record of 27:44 by an impressive six seconds. For context, the former mark was jointly held by Mo Farah (2010), a four-time Olympic champion and six-time World Championships gold medallist, and Emile Cairess (2022), who placed fourth in the men’s marathon at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Valencia is renowned for hosting rapid runs for fierce international competitors. The venue for the current women’s and men’s half marathon world records, as well as one of the fastest marathons on the planet, this city is accustomed to seeing speed – and this year’s Valencia 10K was no exception.
Andreas Almgren, of Sweden, broke the tape in 26:53 to win the men’s race and set a brand-new European record in the process. On the British front, Charlie Wheeler executed a brilliant race to finish in a time of 27:42, which was also enough to surpass the previous 10K record owned by Farah and Cairess.
Decorated British triathlete Alex Yee – who won the men’s individual triathlon at the 2024 Olympic Games, and who is now training for his first-ever 26.2-mile race at the 2025 London Marathon – also toed the line at this year’s Valencia 10K. Out to prove that he is a swimmer, a cyclist and, without question, an extremely accomplished runner, Yee completed the 10K course in 28:07. He was the British 10,000m champion in 2018, after all.
Finishing just three seconds behind Yee, in 28:10, was Phil Sesemann, who – alongside Cairess – competed in the men’s Olympic marathon in Paris.
Meanwhile, in the women’s race, Hellen Lobun of Kenya secured victory in a super-swift time of 29:30, while Amy-Eloise Neale crossed the finish line in 31:15 to become the first Brit home in 14th position.
Leonard, still only 23, is very much making a name for himself in the running sphere. A Yorkshire-born athlete who represents Morpeth Harriers (in addition to Great Britain), Leonard became the European U23 champion in the 10,000m in July 2023, then, in April 2024, ran his fastest 10,000m to date at Night of the 10,000m PB’s in London. Here, he placed second in a time of 27:38.39 – which is almost identical to his new 10K best on the road.
He was also selected to run the 10,000m for Britain at the 2024 European Athletics Championships and, more recently, was part of the British cohort that won team bronze at the 2024 European Cross Country Championships.
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