Kenyans dominate Mountain Running World Cup and Golden Trail Series with podium sweeps

Richard Atuya in action during the Grossglockner Mountain Run in Austria/WMRA 

Kenyan mountain runners continued their impressive run on the international circuit on Sunday, producing dominant performances in both the WMRA Mountain Running World Cup in Austria and the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) in Canada.

Richard Atuya and Ruth Gitonga led Kenyan podium sweeps at the Grossglockner Mountain Run in Austria, as Samwel Kiprotich claimed a dramatic victory at the Quebec Mega Trail in Canada after edging compatriot Philemon Kiriago in one of the closest finishes of the Golden Trail World Series season.

At the eighth race of the WMRA Mountain Running World Cup, staged over a demanding 13.3km course with 1,300 metres of elevation gain, World Mountain and Trail Running Championships silver medallist Atuya stamped his authority early.

The Kenyan surged into the lead, opening a 50-metre gap before steadily increasing his advantage on the climb to Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, to win in 1:10:20.

Defending champion Ephantus Njeri finished second in 1:12:33, as Elijah Kamau Kariuki completed an all-Kenyan podium in 1:14:26. The women’s race was equally successful for Kenya as Ruth Gitonga broke away from the leading pack after the opening kilometres to triumph in 1:22:29, underlining her strong form midway through the World Cup season.

Jedidah Sang finished second in 1:23:26, with Gloria Chebet taking third in 1:24:34, to complete another Kenyan podium sweep. In Canada, Kiprotich produced a perfectly timed finish to win the third round of the Golden Trail World Series over the gruelling 28.7km course with 1,397 metres of elevation gain.

Representing Salomon, Kiprotich clocked 2:08:19 to beat pre-race favourite Philemon Kiriago by just five seconds, while Nashon Kiplimo secured third, another 13 seconds behind, as the top three finished within 18 seconds.

The race proved one of the most competitive in recent GTWS history, with the top six men separated by only 48 seconds. “I’m happy. Of course, it wasn’t easy. I didn’t want to spend too much energy following the leaders because I knew I needed to be strong at the end. In the last ten minutes I pushed at full speed and got the win,” said Kiprotich.

In the women’s race, Caroline Kimutai finished third as Romania’s Maldina Florea claimed victory ahead of Canada’s Marie Rivet. The Golden Trail World Series now heads to Austria for the fourth round, the Salomon Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail, featuring a challenging 23.5km course with 1,700 metres of elevation gain.