Kilian Jornet Bests Jim Walmsley in Trail-Running Showdown With Course-Record Time – runnersworld.com

• Kilian Jornet broke the course record at Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland on Sunday, finishing first with a time of 2:25:35.
• Sierre-Zinal was a rematch for Jornet and Jim Walmsley, both of whom raced the 2018 Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc (UTMB) last September and ended up DNF’ing.
• In the women’s race, Maude Mathys of Switzerland claimed the crown with a winning time and new course record of 2:49:20.

The highly anticipated showdown between trail running greats ended with a course record when Kilian Jornet shattered the mark at Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland.

In his greatest effort on the 31K (19.2 miles) course, the seven-time Sierre-Zinal champion from Spain ran 2:25:35 for the victory on Sunday, breaking the previous record of 2:29:12 set by Jonathan Wyatt in 2003.

“The legs were good today,” Jornet told Ski Chrono afterwards. “I was feeling good from the start. Why the record this year? I have run less and there is more time to train.”

Prior to Sunday, Jornet only raced once this season–a victory on the Golden Trail World Series opener at Zegama. According to Golden Trail Series, he will contest Pikes Peak in Colorado in two weeks.

While Jornet, 31, was considered the favorite heading into the fifth race in the 2019 World Mountain Running Association World Cup series, he faced one of the toughest fields ever assembled in his quest to defend his title with American Jim Walmsley, 29, and Eritrean Petro Mamu, 34, competing in the race. Mamu went on to place second in 2:26:31 while Walmsley closed for third place overall in 2:31.52.

For Walmsley, the podium finish marked his debut over the course that features views of four 4,000-meter peaks and includes 2,200 meters of ascent and 1,100 meters of descent. In May, the ultrarunner set a 50-mile world best at the Hoka One One 100K Challenge where he averaged 5:48-minute mile pace for a 4:50.07 finishing time. Walmsley’s performance on Sunday took place just over a month after he obliterated his own Western States course record on June 30.

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A week after winning the Thyon-Dixence race, Mamu earned a runner-up finish in Switzerland. In 2017, he served a nine-month ban from competition and was stripped of his 2017 World Long Distance Running title for using performance-enhancing drugs in competition.

Sierre-Zinal was a rematch for both Walmsley and Jornet, who raced the 2018 Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc (UTMB) last September. The race was expected to be a showdown between both runners, though both ended up DNF’ing.

In the women’s race, Maude Mathys of Switzerland claimed the crown with a winning time and new course record of 2:49:20. She lowered the previous record set by Anna Pichrtova in 2008 by more than five minutes.

Mathys was followed by countrywoman Judith Wyder who closed for second in 2:54:20 and Silvia Rampazzo of Italy who finished third in 2:56:17.

Contributing Writer Taylor Dutch is a freelance writer living in Austin, Texas.