Lithunia's Galvydyte and France’s Mornet Victoriuos at European Road Mile Brasov

At the European Road Mile in Brasov, held as part of the Running Festival on Saturday, September 21, Lithuania’s Gabija Galvydyte and France’s Romain Mornet emerged victorious, both setting new course records with times of 4:36.8 and 4:01.7, respectively.

In the women’s race, which started first, Galvydyte—an Olympian in the 800m at Paris 2024 and the fastest in the field with a 1500m personal best of 4:08.60—took an immediate lead. By the halfway point, she was approximately 30 meters ahead of her competitors on the course through Brasov’s Coresi business district. Although visibly tiring in the final 200 meters, she managed to hold off Hungary’s Lili Anna Vindics-Toth, who was closing in rapidly, and crossed the finish line just under a second ahead, with Vindics-Toth clocking 4:37.7. Both athletes set national records in this increasingly popular event, which gained international recognition last year.

“It’s been a busy year. I graduated from university in the USA this summer, competed at the Olympics, and ran under two minutes for the 800m, so this is a fantastic end to the season,” Galvydyte said. “I thought my season was over just over a week ago, but then this opportunity came up, and I decided to give it one more go. I started fast because I wasn’t familiar with the course and expected more competition earlier on, but that didn’t happen.”

The men’s race unfolded differently, with a group of five runners staying together for most of the distance, about 30 meters behind the Kenyan pacemaker tasked with guiding them towards a sub-4-minute finish. After the pacemaker dropped out, Mornet began to increase the pace steadily with 300 meters remaining. Only Great Britain’s James Gormley could keep up with him, and the two battled for the lead in the final stretch. Mornet ultimately pulled ahead, crossing the line in 4:01.7, with Gormley finishing just behind in 4:02.3.

“I wanted to run faster, but the pacemaker went too far ahead, so after 200 meters, I decided to focus on winning,” Mornet explained. “At one kilometer, I took the lead and then pushed again with 300 meters to go—something I’m used to from track races. That’s the distance you practice for in training, and I knew I had enough left to hold off my rivals in the final 100 meters.”

• SEE ALL RESULTS HERE

RESULTS WOMEN ELITE MILE

RESULTS MEN ELITE MILE