Kilian Jornet wins his sixth Sierre-Zinal title in Swiss Alps

Yesterday Spanish ultrarunner Kilian Jornet became the first person ever to win yesterday’s Sierre-Zinal 31K race in Switzerland for the sixth time. Jornet’s time was 2:31:39. The race is the third in the Golden Trail series put on by Salomon. Being relatively flat compared to the other races in the series, with only 2,200m of ascent and 1,100m of descent, it is considered the fastest. (Hard to figure, when the race involves scaling five 4,000m peaks, including the Matterhorn.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmVotTGgMG_/?taken-by=kilianjornet

Yesterday Spanish ultrarunner Kilian Jornet became the first person ever to win yesterday’s Sierre-Zinal 31K race in Switzerland for the sixth time. Jornet’s time was 2:31:39. The race is the third in the Golden Trail series put on by Salomon. Being relatively flat compared to the other races in the series, with only 2,200m of ascent and 1,100m of descent, it is considered the fastest. (Hard to figure, when the race involves scaling five 4,000m peaks, including the Matterhorn.)

Kilian Jornet remporte la Sierre-Zinal pour la sixième fois https://t.co/demSP7nkxa via @lequipe

— Aurélien Delfosse (@auredelfosse) August 13, 2018

RELATED: Top five women–and Jornet–break records at Comapedrosa

For the third year in a row, Scottish runner Robbie Simpson was second, in 2:33:11. Robert Panin Surum of Kenya was third, in 2:33:18.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmYXdnvgQ9G/?taken-by=fatsimpson

Lucy Wambui Muirgi of Kenya won the women’s race, in 2:57.55. It was her second win, having been first to cross the finish line in 2015 as well. Michelle Maier of Germany was second, in 3:01.30. Simone Troxler of Switzerland was third, in 3:02.46.

Jornet’s previous wins here were in 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, and 2017. He was third in 2011 and fourth in 2013.

Mountain runner Rob Simpson lives in a small village in southern Germany, near the Austrian border. He and Jornet have a long-standing rivalry at this race. Simpson finished second last year, and in 2016 as well. He was fifth in 2013.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmU8KHsgmnx/?taken-by=fatsimpson

The American runner Pablo Vigil won the event five times in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The next race in the Golden Trail Series is the Pikes Peak Marathon in Colorado on August 19.