There are different ways to “have fun”. By coming to compete in the 10 km in Lille this Saturday, Cassandre Beaugrand had this objective. She did even better, beating the French 10 km record and making a successful return to racing. Gold medalist in triathlon at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, the 28-year-old Frenchwoman erased the 31-minute mark established by Alessia Zarbo in Prague in September 2025.
Cassandre Beaugrand lowered the best national mark by eight seconds and, at the same time, shattered her personal best (33 min 12 sec) which dates from 2016, when she was only 19 years old. “It was time to get back to ten miles and see what I was worth,” she smiled after the race, muscularly scarred after feeling cramps. I have a base now and I’m convinced that with a little work, maybe I can improve it further. »
Always an Olympic effect
The triathlon world champion admitted to having had “doubts about her abilities”, arriving “a little gropingly” in Lille, ten years after drawing a line under cross-country and middle-distance running. “I mainly came to have fun, to do a little something other than triathlon because I have been doing triathlon since I was young and it was cool to come back to a slightly more unknown land,” she added.
Star of French athletics since her Olympic title in Paris, Cassandre Beaugrand received the support of the Lille public, who came in large numbers under a gray then sunny sky, with a wind less strong than expected. “Given the number of people shouting my name, I really had the impression of having the Games effect, because it’s true that I’m not necessarily used to it anymore, I don’t run often in France in the end so it was really nice,” she rejoiced.
Cassandre Beaugrand adds this national 10 km record to that of the 5 km, achieved in 14:53 in February 2025. This Saturday, it was the Kenyan Agnes Ngetich who won the 10 km with a very good time of 28 min 58 sec.
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