Golden Trail World Series: Kenyan double in Sierre-Zinal

The regular season of the Golden Trail World Series circuit concluded this Saturday with the prestigious Sierre-Zinal race in Switzerland, before the Grand Final of the Ledro Sky Trentino (October 9-12), where double points will be awarded. This legendary 31 km and 2,200 m D+ event was won by the Kenyan pair Philemon Kiriago and Joyline Chepngeno. Kiriago had already won in 2023 ( Kilian Jornet having won a year ago for the 10th time ), Chepngeno last year.

Kiriago took the lead on the climb, on the final straight towards the highest point before the descent to Zinal. On the descent, only Patrick Kipngeno managed to maintain the gap to his compatriot Kiriago, but not enough to prevent him from taking a second victory. Selelo Saoli completed the podium.

" I'm very happy to win Sierre-Zinal again," said Philemon Kiriago. " My teammates dream of dominating Sierre-Zinal as much as possible. My goal is to get as close as possible to five wins here before focusing on other races like Zegama-Aizkorri. Winning five wins here is my dream. "

The women's race took a turn at the 12th km, near Chandolin. Joyline Chepngeno caught her compatriot Caroline Kimutai and took first place, a position she held until the finish (2h54'50). Kimutaio took second place (2h55'34), 2 minutes and 58 seconds ahead of ultra-trail runner Katie Schide (2h58'32). " I didn't expect to win this race ," said an emotional Chepngeno at the finish.

Heading into October's Grand Final, Morocco's Elhousine Elazzaoui still leads the overall standings with 600 points, despite finishing ninth on Saturday. France's Pierre Galbourdine is 10th (423 points). The women's standings are dominated by Romania's Madalina Florea (576 points).