Poland and China Make UTMB® History

Press Release / 31.08.2018

For the first time since its inception, the UTMB® celebrates the victory of a Polish athlete. On Wednesday evening, Marcin Swierc (2nd place in the 2017 CCC®) made history by crossing the TDS® finish line in first place in front of the race's more than 1500 participating runners.

The 123km race, with 6800m of vertical gain, remained undecided until the final few kilometers. During the first section of the course, American runner Dylan Bowman set the pace for fellow competitors Pablo Villa (ESP), Dmitry Mityaev (RUS), Tofol Castaner (ESP), and Marcin Swierc (POL). Due to the unstable and rainy weather, the start was delayed two hours and the course modified; several favorites and outsiders did not finish, including Hayden Hawks (USA), last year's CCC® winner, and Frenchmen Ludo Pommeret, Fabien Antolinos, and Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz. The latter was recently crowned France's long course trail running national champion.

By the time they reached kilometer 100 in Les Contamines, the four-person lead group continued to play cat and mouse. Recent High Trail Vanoise winner, Dmitry Mityaev, left the aid station in first place, followed by Dylan Bowman and Marcin Swierc just one minute behind. The three men stayed together until the Place du Tirangle de l'Amitié finish line, forcing a sprint through the streets of Chamonix at the very end of the more than 120km race. At this little game, Polish runner Swierc proved the most resilient of the three, speeding one minute ahead of Dylan Bowan (13:24 versus 13:25:02). He crossed the finish line in first place to the resounding cheers of an impressive and clearly dedicated fan club. The TDS® 3rd place finisher, Russian Dmitry Mityaev (13:25:43), finished right behind the two lead runners.

In the women's race, Frenchwoman Audrey Tanguy showed everyone what a great season she is having by winning in 16:05, outpacing the 2013 and 2014 UTMB® winner Rory Bosio (USA, 16:19). This victory was not really surprising for Audrey, who finished 2nd behind Mimmi Kotka (SE) in this year's 90km du Mont-Blanc. Caroline Benoit (FR) crossed the finish line in 3rd place (17:18).

Thursday morning, 1500 runners stood at the starting line in Orsières, Switzlerand, to run a 56km, 3500m vertical gain race all the way to Chamonix. The OCC's explosive course format provided the winner with the means to enter the history books. China's Erenjia Jia crossed the finish line first in 05:28, to become the trail running ambassador for a country where the sport is growing fast. After his 2nd race on the European continent, his name now figures among the top runners. Leading the race from beginning to end, the Chinese runner finished in first in front of Spaniard Santiago Mezquita (05:34) and Frenchman Kevin Vermeulen (05:35:54). For the women, New Zealander Ruth Croft, who won the Marathon du Mont-Blanc this year and the 2015 CCC®, dominated the women's race and also placed 18th overall with her time of 05:53.

At the end of the day, all eyes were on the Majestic Hotel, where the UTMB® pre-race press conference was held. Just a few hours before the start of the 16th edition (Friday, at 18:00), the men's and women's favorites gathered for one last get together. Among them were Kilian Jornet, Jim Walmsley, Luis Alberto Hernando, Zach Miller, Tim Tolleffson, Xavier Thévenard, Mimmi Kotka, and Caroline Chaverot: almost all of the world's current top ultramarathon trail runners showed up for the 2018 edition, which should prove to be an epic and exciting race.

"This year I made sure to better prepare for the night time section," said Jim Walmsley, who is expected to perform well this year following his 5th place finish in 2017. "I spent more time in the USA to hone my training and preparation, and once in Europe, I have been able to focus solely on sharpening my skills." Kilian Jornet will attempt to take home a 4th historic win. "This year, my main goal has been to perform well in a variety of different formats. I am not really out to break a record, to win, or to run a specific time," explained the Catalan runner 10 years after his first victory in Chamonix.

For all results: http://utmb.livetrail.net

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