Ethiopian Lamecha Girma broke the world indoor 3,000m record at the Lievin leg of the World Athletics Indoor Tour on Wednesday.

Girma, who won the silver medal of the men's 3,000m steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympic Games, clocked seven minutes and 23.81 seconds to break the previous record of 7:24.90 set by Kenya's Daniel Komen in 1998.

Spain's Mohamed Katir finished second in 7:24.68 to set the new European record of the event.

"I was talking about this world record attempt for the past three days. My brother is my coach. He told me I had it in me and of course I believed him," Girma said.

"I felt really good in training and it was my best form ever, plus the crowd was very supportive today."

"The pacers and the Wavelight were perfect - it all clicked. I have raced here several times in this meeting. The atmosphere and the crowd never disappoint. I hope the record stays for a long time," he added.

(With input from Xinhua)