French runner throws down shocking 1,500m record at Paris Diamond League

Ten months after the Summer Olympics lit up the streets of Paris, world-class athletics returned to the French capital on Friday evening for the annual Paris Diamond League. French middle-distance runner Azeddine Habz stole the show, winning the men’s 1,500m in a national record time of 3:27.49—the sixth-fastest time in history.

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𝟯’𝟮𝟳”𝟰𝟵

Azeddine Habz 🤯🤯🤯#MeetingParis #ParisDL pic.twitter.com/l3HVziorXS

— FFAthlétisme (@FFAthletisme) June 20, 2025

Habz held off a deep field to take the win in front of a home crowd, narrowly missing Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s European record of 3:26.73. However, he did take down Ingebrigtsen’s previous Paris meet record of 3:29.63.

The 31-year-old shaved two full seconds off his personal best to hold off Kenya’s rising star Phanuel Koech, who ran a U20 world record of 3:27.72, and Great Britain’s George Mills, who finished in 3:28.36. Thirteen of the 14 runners in the field ran personal bests, with four national records falling, including Habz’s.

At last year’s World Championships, Habz finished 11th in the final. He also missed the Olympic final in Tokyo, having to run an extra race in the repechage round after failing to advance from the heats. Friday’s win marked his third career Diamond League victory.

🚨 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗗𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 ! ⭐️

𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅 𝐃𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 😱

🤯 Alerte 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐞 𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐳𝐢𝐧 d’Azeddine Habz qui martyrise le chrono sur 1500 m en 3️⃣’2️⃣7️⃣”4️⃣9️⃣ (ancien : 3’28″98 par Mehdi Baala en 2003) au Meeting de Paris ! pic.twitter.com/HpBUPiyHiR

— MEETING DE PARIS (@MEETINGPARIS) June 20, 2025

Canada’s Audrey Leduc was the lone Canadian in Paris, placing seventh in the women’s 200m in 22.90 seconds, just a tenth of a second off her season’s best. American Anavia Battle won the race in a season’s best 22.28.

For full results from the Paris Diamond League, see here.