The stormy wet weather didn’t deter the determination and strength of the athletes from the 29 countries participating in the Skyrunning European Championships in Corteno-Aprica, Italy, July 3-5, 2025. Unlike Wimbledon today, the races were not cancelled and with full course safety procedures in place, the SKY and SKYULTRA disciplines took off.
Italy, Spain and Sweden came out on top in the country ranking. Twenty-seven medals and European tiles were at stake across the three disciplines which kicked off on Thursday with the VERTICAL.
Today’s SKY and SKYULTRA took off in Corteno, site of this iconic and historic SkyMarathon celebrating 30 years. The SKY discipline was held on the Half Marathon course – 23 km long with a 1,864m vertical climb reaching the Salina Pass at 2,433m before descending to the finish in Santicolo.
Sweden’s Martin Nilsson sped off from the gun but was caught before the end of the climb by Spaniard Fabian Venero. Just 40 seconds separated them from the summit. “This is my first medal in an international championship, so I’m really happy. The race was so hard for me because Martin [Nilsson] was really pushing on the uphill. On the downhill I managed to pass him, he caught me again, but on the last kilometre I sprinted to the win.” Venero crossed the finish line first in 2h03’5” just three seconds ahead of Nilsson, securing two gold medals – for the SKY and the COMBINED.
“I wanted to gain some advantage from the start before the steep uphill, to be in front and control the race, but when Fabian passed me I couldn’t keep up. I knew the course was a very straightforward up and down, so I aimed to catch him on the downhill and on the final stretch I almost did. I’ll need to become a better sprinter!” Nilsson declared with a smile. Thanks to his performance on Thursday he took home two silver medals, for the SKY and the COMBINED, also putting Sweden on the podium for the country ranking. With Norway placed fourth in the country ranking, it’s interesting to note the increasing high performance of northern countries in skyrunning.
The bronze medal went to Frenchman Lucien Mermillon who finished a tight third just one minute off the winning time.
The women’s race saw Italy’s VERTICAL Champion Benedetta Broggi head the pack for the first half of the race but was overtaken by Anastasiia Rubtsova on the downhill who closed in 2h29’46” taking a double gold – also for the COMBINED.
“I’m so happy with this result! I can’t believe it, as this race is very runnable and I prefer courses that are more technical. I’m super stoked!” declared an ecstatic Rubtsova.
Sweden’s Agnes Josefsson cut seven minutes on the descent to clinch the silver. Another finish line sprint awarded Italy’s Corinna Ghirardi with the bronze.
The SKYULTRA retraced the historic course, 42 km long in a giant semi-circle of pure skyrunning along mountain crests, summiting Monte Sellero at 2,770m. The overall ascent and descent amount to a massive 5,470m vertical climb, classified as a 2+ Technical Level on the ISF Certified Course list.
With incessant rain since the start, storm conditions prevailed with thunder and lightning adding to the dramatic atmosphere of the race. Italy’s Cristian Minoggio crossed the finish line to applause, music and the rumbling of thunder.
“Congratulations to the organisers who took the responsibility of holding the race on the original course, despite the weather. We all got to enjoy this historic race, even if it was a bit wet. I even slipped on the ridge, but it doesn’t matter!
For Minoggio, it was his third win here, this time, pocketing a gold medal for the Skyrunning European SKYULTRA Champions title. He closed in 4h30’26”, a good 13 minutes ahead of fellow-countryman, Luca Arrigoni who took silver. The bronze medal went to Spaniard Dimas Pereira in 4h48’38”.
The women’s gold medallist was from Norway, Shangave Balendran, closing in 5h23’25”. Like Nilsson, she felt completely at home with the weather conditions. “This is amazing. I started this morning feeling the biggest underdog of the field. When we got to the steepest part I felt at home. Steep and ridges are exactly what I like and for me, the weather was perfect for running. It felt like the Norwegian summer!”
All medallists qualify for the SkyMasters, the final of the 2025 Skyrunner® World Series and participants will automatically be included in the ISF Ranking.
Twenty-nine countries participated:
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
The biennial Skyrunning European Championships will be back in 2027 and, in the meantime, the sun has come out to celebrate with “Less cloud. More sky!”
SKY
Men
GOLD – Fabian Venero (ESP) 2h03’52”
SILVER – Martin Nilsson (SWE) 2h03’55”
BRONZE – Lucien Mermillon (FRA) 2h04’48”
Women
GOLD – Anastasiia Rubtsova (AIN) 2h29’46”
SILVER – Agnes Josefsson (SWE) 2h30’49”
BRONZE – Corinna Ghirardi (ITA) 2h32’03”
SKYULTRA
Men
GOLD – Cristian Minoggio (ITA) 4h30’26”
SILVER – Luca Arrigoni (ITA) 4h43’21”
BRONZE – Dimas Pereira (ESP) 4h48’38”
Women
GOLD – Shangave Balendran (NOR) 5h23’25”
SILVER – Ioana Amariei (ROU) 5h38’58”
BRONZE – Roberta Jacquin (ITA) 5h39’09”
COMBINED
Men
GOLD – Fabian Venero (ESP) 156 points
SILVER – Martin Nilsson (SWE) 152 points
BRONZE – Lucien Mermillon (FRA) 146 points
Women
GOLD – Anastasiia Rubtsova (AIN) 168 points
SILVER – Benedetta Broggi (ITA) 168 points
BRONZE – Agnes Josefsson (SWE) 150 points
Full results
Medal count
Ranking
Certified Courses
More info
