Étienne Daguinos

A born runner 👶

Born near Paris and having quickly moved to the Bordeaux region, Étienne grew up in athletics and very quickly developed a taste for hard work. He ran his first cross-country races at the age of 7 and dominated all the regional races he took part in (Gujan-Mestras, Bègles, Cenon…). The young French rocket 🚀 then joined his first club and started testing every athletic discipline 🎽 (javelin, long jump, discus, shot put, sprint…), but it was in the middle-distance that he excelled most. Initially licensed with the Sort Athlétique Gazinet-Cestas club, he quickly switched to US Talence Athlétisme for better support and an approach more geared toward performance 📈. It was here that he met his coach, who still supports him today: Emmanuelle Roux. A former all-round athlete herself, she guides Étienne in his training and allows him to quickly break through toward the top level of sport 🔝.

A rise in power… 👀

More than jumps or throws, Étienne quickly realizes that it’s running that makes him tick 🏃. He therefore focuses on cross-country in winter, and on the track and road in summer. 1,000 m, 1,500 m, 3,000 m, 5,000 m—no distance stops him, so he increases his mileage over the years. He earned his first selections in 2018 and went to race in Italy 🇮🇹 for his first 10 km road race in France colors. His motivation lifts him up and pushes him to constantly surpass himself 💪.

His work finally paid off in 2018 and 2019 when he was crowned twice in a row French Champion in cross-country, junior category 🇫🇷. Moving up to the under-23 category, he kept up the momentum and also achieved several national feats (French champion in the 5,000 m twice and new French under-23 record in the event).

Chasing records 🏆

Now in the senior category, he must take on already-established French and international athletes. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games were also fast approaching ⌛️, and Étienne was being watched closely. Unfortunately, despite intensive training and an iron will, the qualifying standards were not reached, and fate turned against him. Deprived of the Olympics, he nevertheless kept his head high and did not reduce training 🧠. A mindset that would prove to be the right one, as in November 2024, 3 months after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, he won the title and the European record over 5 km 🇪🇺. He crossed the line after a race of 27 minutes and 4 seconds, and all eyes turned back to him again. On October 12, 2025, lining up for the Paris 20K, Daguinos struck again by smashing the previous course record by several dozen seconds, setting it at 57 minutes and 19 seconds.

His progress did not slow in 2026: on March 30, he clocked 59 minutes and 27 seconds at the Berlin Half Marathon, becoming the 2nd best French performer of all time over the distance. Then, on August 10, 2026 in Birmingham, he stepped onto the 3rd step of the podium at the European Championships in the 5,000 m 🥉, his very first international track medal. Selected with the French team, he is preparing to contest the half marathon at the World Road Running Championships, on Sunday, September 20, 2026 in Copenhagen 🇩🇰.

So don’t forget these few lines, because you may soon hear his first name echo around the whole world! 🌎