The SKYULTRA brought the 2026 Masters Skyrunning World Championships to a close on October 4, 2026, in São Pedro do Sul, Portugal.
It was another day of glory for Portugal after taking the top slot for the country ranking* for the third consecutive year. United Kingdom and Japan completed the podium with the UK claiming their first silver in the Masters.
Three disciplines make up the 2026 Masters Skyrunning World Championships where world titles and 75 medals are awarded across four age categories – over 40, over 45, over 50, and over 55. The first 48 medals were assigned in the VERTICAL and SKY disciplines at the Pierra Menta Été events in France in July.
The SKYULTRA was hosted at the Pisão Extreme in the northern part of the country where the demanding terrain rolled out a massive 5,700m vertical climb on the 64 km course following slight modification to the original parameters.
The course posed a formidable challenge for the age categories. The oldest male finisher was Briton Barry Hale, 68, “I’m really happy to be here with these talented athletes representing the UK, and I made sure I finished too as it’s helped the team to move up to silver!
“The first few hours of the race were really good until the sun got into the valleys.
When a Portuguese runner passes you and says, ‘it’s too hot’ you know you’re in for a tough day! Luckily by mid-afternoon, a thunderstorm rolled in and cooled things down. The later parts of the race were a struggle after a big effort to avoid the cut-off at checkpoint four, but it made a difference and I couldn’t be happier.”
The fastest man and woman delivered incredible performances – Pedro Garrido, 40, from Portugal finished in 10h06’58” while Mirjam Saarheim, 48, from Norway clocked 11h37’55”. Spaniard Lucas Hernandez lead for more than half the course but was forced to retire. Garrido went on to race for gold without looking back.
“It’s really hard to find the words right now. I can’t believe that I won,” commented Garrido. “I kept hearing that I was first from the many friends along the course, but I couldn’t believe it. Now that I know it’s real, I feel incredibly lucky, especially because two weeks ago at the World Championships in La Gomera I had my worst day ever, and now I’m here! I want to thank all the people who supported me along the whole course. I couldn’t have done it without them, and with my teammate Francisco Freitas behind me, it’s even more special!”
Francisco Freitas, who turned 50 in June, crossed the finish line just 18 minutes after Garrido, taking the gold for the O50 category. “It’s always a great feeling and a source of great pride to represent your country. This race was incredibly hard and I’m really proud of this result, especially because it’s another gold medal for Portugal!”
The third man to finish was Spaniard Jesus Bailo in the O45, almost an hour after the winner. After winning gold in both 2023 and 2024, Portugal’s Leonardo Diogo took another gold for the O55 category.
The women’s race saw a stunning performance by Saarheim in the O45 category who finished 12th overall across the men’s and women’s field. “I loved the course, although it was incredibly hard. The terrain is different to Norway where there’s a lot of mud and the descents are harder, but the ascents here were as tough as they come!”
The second woman to cross the finish line was O40 category winner, Sofia Garcia from Spain, in just over 12 hours. Portugal’s Lucia Franco competing in the O45 category, finished third.
Hungarian Ildiko Wermescher, 61, secured two gold medals in a remarkable repeat performance. After taking a gold in the SKY discipline in France in July, she won the SKYULTRA gold for the fourth time since 2023, finishing fourth woman across all age categories.
Overall, 175 athletes from 15 countries took part in the event. Official ISF teams represented were: Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA and Venezuela.
Marino Giacometti, ISF President and founder of the sport, concluded, “Considering the distance, the vertical climb and tremendous technical challenge of the course, I’m very proud of all the athletes who competed – especially those who managed to cross the finish line, taking into account their age!”
“The 2026 Masters SKYULTRA World Championships close an intense skyrunning season. Looking ahead to 2027, the biennial Continental Skyrunning Championships will take place alongside the annual Youth and Masters. As usual, we invite you to explore new horizons and share our dreams. To all athletes, members and fans, we wish “Less cloud. More Sky!”
2026 Masters Skyrunning World Championships results
O40 MEN
Gold – Pedro Garrido (POR) 10h06’58”
Silver – Emidio Correia (POR) 11h24’31”
Bronze – Andras Herczog (HUN) 11h27’28”
O40 WOMEN
Gold – Sofia Garcia (ESP) 12h02’05”
Silver – Marina Alves (POR) 13h 52’18”
Bronze – Sophie Gibbens (GBR) 14h34’57”
O45 MEN
Gold – Jesus Bailo (ESP) 11h00’09”
Silver – Davi Silva (BRA) 11h16’35”
Bronze – Victor Freire (ESP) 11h39’37”
O45 WOMEN
Gold – Mirjam Saarheim (NOR) 11h37’55”
Silver – Lucia Franco (POR) 12h45’42”
Bronze – Veradina Nacheva (BUL) 13h31’43”
O50 MEN
Gold – Francisco Freitas (POR) 10h24’22”
Silver – Peter Stulrajter (SVK) 11h11’48”
Bronze – Luis Angel Tejedor (ESP) 11h19’35”
O50 WOMEN
Gold – Ann Andries (BEL) 13h52’18”
Silver – Adele Clarke (GBR) 15h51’43”
Bronze – Denitsa Kirilova (BUL) 16h15’08”
O55 MEN
Gold – Leonardo Diogo (POR) 12h06’00”
Silver – Miguel Alvarez (ESP) 14h29’25”
Bronze – Yoshitaka Kawasaki (JPN) 14h49’31”
O55 WOMEN
Gold – Ildiko Wermescher (HUN) 13h22’37”
Silver – Emoke Paal (HUN) 14h46’59”
COUNTRY RANKING*
Gold – Portugal
Silver – United Kingdom
Bronze – Japan
*(Country ranking is based on the individual points accrued by the top three athletes in each age category in each discipline).
Medal count and country ranking after the VERTICAL and SKY
All athletes will be included in the ISF Ranking
Race website
