BOCHUM, Germany (AFP) - On the first day of athletics competition at Rhine-Ruhr 2025, Slovenia’s Klara Lukan soared ahead in a field of 28 racers to clinch victory in the women’s 10,000m.
Thanks to a time of 31:25.84 at Lohrheidestadion in Bochum, the two-time Olympian annihilated the previous FISU World University Games record for the middle-distance event by over 20 seconds, a mark that had stood since Duisburg 1989, the last time the biennial multisport event was held in Germany.  
Thirty-six years ago, Romania’s Viorica Ghican ran a 31.46.43 at the now-Schauinsland Reisen Arena, the site of this year’s opening ceremony.
Lukan also picked up her first FISU gold medal in her final race as a student-athlete.
As she crossed the line, rain pouring down on her face, the crowd was on its feet to raucously cheer her to the finish.
“That’s a special honor for me. And of course, I bro ke the record of these championships,” said the 24-year-old, who studies at the University of Ljubljana in Economics and International Business.
“Everything went according to my plan. At first, I wanted to do more tactical. But then my style of running is to push the pace. So, I kept that, because that’s the way I run for my whole career.
“Why would I do something differently than that? Because it brought me many successes. And that’s me.”
An Olympic competitor in 2020 and 2024, Lukan had a focused mindset for these FISU Games. Last summer in Paris, she ran the 5000m and 10,000m, making the final in the latter.
“As a professional athlete, you have to be used to the pressure. You have to be used to it, because otherwise it doesn’t give you the stimulus to improve,” she admitted.
It has uniquely helped the Slovenian in her preparation for Rhine-Ruhr 2025. Earlier this year, she set a personal best of 30:26, the fourth fastest time in Europe.