Kilian Jornet And Judith Wyder Win Golden Trail World Series Titles With Victories At Annapurna Trail Marathon

Press Release / 07.11.2019

Kilian Jornet and Judith Wyder are the 2019 Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) champions after both won the Grand Final race at the Annapurna Trail Marathon in Nepal.

For Jornet, it was business as usual. The Team Salomon athlete from Spain finished nearly 15 minutes ahead of 2nd place finisher Davide Magnini (Team Salomon), winning the 42 km race in 4:46:05. Magnini finished in 4:59:59. In the women's race, Wyder (Team Salomon) bested Italy's Silvia Rampazzo (Team Tornado) in a time of 5:42:03. The victory was Wyder's third of the GTWS season.

The top-10 men and women in the overall points standings after the first six races of the year earned a trip to Nepal and a place in the Annapurna Trail Marathon, which included 3,560 meters of elevation gain and climbed to 3,753 meters. The overall final standings of the GTWS were determined by the runners' three best finishes during the season, plus their result at the Grand Final.     

In the men's race, Magnini managed to keep pace with his running idol for half the race, but the 22-year-old eventually faded to 2nd, securing 2nd place in the season-long standings as well. Jornet had not run a race since winning at Pikes Peak in August. He spent parts of September and October on a Himalayan adventure and family vacation, part of which included an ascent to more than 8,000 meters on Mount Everest. "I am really happy to finish the season in this way, with four races and four victories," Jornet said. "It was a hard, demanding race, but also beautiful, as the landscape was constantly changing, combining sections of forest, woodland and high mountain. My great unknown was how I would feel after the expedition. I had been away from running for a month, but in the end my legs responded well, and the altitude didn't bother me."

The always-consistent Stian Angermund-Vik (Team Salomon) notched his first podium of the Golden Trail World Series season, finishing 3rd behind Magnini in 5:08:18. After three 4th place results during the season, the Norwegian's performance in Nepal vaulted him into 3rd position in the final GTWS standings. He won the Golden Trail World Series title in 2018. France's Thibaut Baronian (Team Salomon) was 4th in Nepal and finished the GTWS season in 4th as well. Marc Lauenstein was 5th in Nepal behind Baronian and 8th for the season. He came into the race in 10th position overall, narrowly qualifying for the final after a 3rd place at Pikes Peak and a 2nd place finish at the ring of Steall in Scotland. Italy's Nadir Maguet (Team La Sportiva) entered the race in 3rd place in the overall standings, but did not finish the Grand Final on Friday. His DNF left him 5th for the season.

IN THE WOMEN'S RACE, it looked to be a three-woman race coming in, with Wyder, fellow Swiss Maude Mathys (Team Salomon) and New Zealand's Ruth Croft (Team Scott) a cut above the pack for most of the season. Wyder, a former orienteering star, won at both the Dolomyths Run and the Ring of Steall in record time this season. She was also 2nd at Sierre-Zinal. Together, Mathys and Wyder had broken course records at every race they ran in the GTWS.   

On Friday, Wyder was just too fast. Her third victory of the 2019 GTWS delivered her the overall series title. It was the longest race that Wyder has ever run. Mathys took a wrong turn in Friday's race and was disqualified. That dropped her to 6th in the GTWS standings for the year.  

For Rampazzo, the 2nd place finish was her best of the GTWS and it capped off a very strong season for the Italian and a 2nd place finish in the GTWS overall standings. Friday marked her third podium finish of the year. She was also 2nd at Marathon du Mont Blanc and 3rd at Sierre-Zinal.   

Croft finished the season in 3rd overall after a 9th place result in Nepal on Friday. South Africa's Meg Mackenzie (Team Salomon) continued her fantastic conclusion to the season with a 3rd place result in Nepal. By finishing 3rd she vaulted into 5th in the overall standings of the GTWS. Norway's Eli Anne Dvergsdal (Team Salomon), regained her early-season form with a 6th place finish on Friday. She began the GTWS season by winning at Zegama in her first marathon distance race ever and then finishing 3rd at Marathon du Mont Blanc. After struggling with two DNFs and then a 10th place finish at the Ring of Steall, her 6th place result on Friday left her in 4th in the overall standings.

The final 2019 GTWS standings look like this after the Grand Final at the Annapurna Trail Marathon:

MEN:
Kilian Jornet (Team Salomon)
Davide Magnini (Team Salomon)
Stian Angermund-Vik (Team Salomon)
Thibaut Baronian (Team Salomon)
Nadir Maguet (Team La Sportiva)
Aritz Egea (Team Salomon)
Sage Canaday (Team Hoka)
Marc Lauenstein (Team Salomon)
Bartlomiej Predwojewski (Team Salomon-Suunto)
Rémi Bonnet (Team Salomon)

WOMEN:
Judith Wyder (Team Salomon)
Silvia Rampazzo (Team Scarpa/Tornado)
Ruth Croft (Team Scott)
Eli Anne Dvergsdal (Team Salomon)
Meg Mackenzie (Team Salomon)
Maude Mathys (Team Salomon)
Yngvild Kaspersen (Team Adidas Terrex)
Elisa Desco (Team Scarpa/Compressport)
Amandine Ferrato (Team Hoka)
Holly Page (Team Adidas Terrex)

ABOUT THE GOLDEN TRAIL SERIES:
The athletes must have participated in three of the six races during the series in order to be eligible for the final. The top-10 men and women with the most points in their three best races earned a trip for themselves and a person of their choice to the Grand Final. The overall final standings (and the men's and women's champions) of the Golden Trail World Series were determined by the runners' three best finishes during the season, plus their result at the Grand Final.

For photos and more, visit www.goldentrailseries.com