At 80, André Ozanne just ran a sub-45 10K and broke another French record.
Most runners would be thrilled to break 45 minutes for 10K once in their lives. André Ozanne just did it at 80 years old.
At the Issy-les-Moulineaux 10K outside Paris this weekend, Ozanne stopped the clock at 44:57, becoming the first French runner aged 80 or older to break the 45-minute barrier over 10 kilometers. That works out to 4:29 per kilometer, a pace plenty of healthy, decades-younger runners can’t touch.
The result sets a new French M80 national record, and it wasn’t a one-off surprise.
Earlier this year, Ozanne also rewrote the record books at the marathon distance. At the Côte d’Amour Amarris Marathon, he ran 3:30:23, lowering the existing French record for the 80–84 age group by a staggering 18 minutes. That marathon was run at just under 5:00/km, confirming what this weekend’s 10K showed again: Ozanne isn’t just finishing races, he’s racing them.
Sub-45 minutes for 10K is rare enough in masters running. Doing it at 80 places Ozanne in a category that barely exists. According to French athletics observers, no one in the country had previously managed it in the M80 category.
What makes the performance stand out even more is its consistency. Ozanne isn’t peaking for novelty or chasing one viral result. Over the past year, he’s quietly stacked record-level performances across distances that most runners begin scaling back from decades earlier.
His marathon record earlier this year also came with a personal touch. Ozanne’s wife, Jackie Ozanne, 77, completed the same marathon in 5:42:14, drawing just as much admiration from spectators along the course.
There’s no sweeping message attached to Ozanne’s results, and he doesn’t need one. Running 44:57 for 10K at 80 years old says plenty on its own.
For anyone wondering what “aging gracefully” looks like in running, this might be a good place to start.
