The fourth edition of the Masters Skyrunning World Championships were celebrated in the French Alps at the Pierra Mentà Eté events in Arêches, Savoie, on 3-4 July 2026 where over-forties skyrunners from 25 countries participated in the VERTICAL and SKY disciplines.
Four age categories – over 40, over 45, over 50, and over 55 were awarded 48 medals across the two disciplines, while the country ranking will be calculated after the SKYULTRA, the Masters final in October.
The events kicked off on Friday, July 3 with the VERTICAL at the new Pierra Menta Verticale, specifically designed for the Championships – 3.8 km long with 870m vertical climb delivering stretches with a challenging 50-70% incline.
The VERTICAL saw 2025 Masters World Champion, Austrian Christian Hoffmann, 51, set the fastest overall time in 34’50”. He was challenged by Frenchman Jacques Grillet Aubert, 53, who stopped the clock just two seconds after Hoffmann.
Athletic excellence was underlined by Hoffmann and the winner of the women’s O40 category, Slovakia’s Marianna Jagercikova. Both are Olympic athletes – Hoffmann in cross country skiing and Jagercikova in SkiMountaineering at Milano-Cortina 2026.
Interestingly, both the men’s and women’s race saw the O40, O45 and O50 winners in the top four overall positions – Hoffmann O50, Matthieu Gandolfi (FRA) O40, and Ian Conroy (IRL) O45 in the men’s, and Jagercikova O40, Charlotte Cotton (BEL) O45 and Dulamsuren Myagmar (MGL) O50 in the women’s.
Leonardo Diogo, 58, from Portugal nailed his first VERTICAL gold medal after two SKYULTRA world titles in 2023 and 2024.
Oldest man in the race, Japan’s Masanao Uchida, 67, finished in 54’23”, closing 14th out of 19 registered in the O55 category.
Saturday was the turn of the Skyrun du Grand Mont valid for the SKY discipline. The course, slightly modified from the original, was 23 km long with 2,300m vertical climb, summiting at 2,680m. The race passes over spectacular ridges and features a via ferrata section where, for safety, the runners have to wear a helmet, harness and a via ferrata kit – the first time such equipment has been required in an ISF Championship.
Once again Hoffmann proved that age is just a number, crushing the competition and arriving first in the Masters and second overall in the open race in an incredible 3h07’24”. Second was O45 winner Javier Barea, and third, O55 winner Javier Rodriguez, both from Spain. The O40 win was a matter of seconds with Japan’s Tetsuya Toyota and Tomofumi Miyagawa crossing the line with just two seconds separating them.
Large teams from Portugal (33), Spain (25), Great Britain (24), and Japan (22), together with previous world medallists guaranteed a strong battle. Launched in 2023, the Masters Skyrunning World Championships have been held in Italy, Portugal and Bulgaria. In 2025, 23 countries participated with 17 nations taking home medals. Portugal topped the country ranking, followed by Japan and Bulgaria.
The 2026 Masters Skyrunning World Championships will conclude on October 4, 2026 in Portugal with the SKYULTRA discipline at Pisão Extreme where the final medal awards will take place across the three disciplines – awarding also the Team titles.
The 2026 skyrunning championships kicked off in May with the Youth World Championships in Croatia, the first Continental Youth Championships in Canada, followed by the Masters in France today, athletes from a total of 37 countries have participated.
After the World Championships in Spain in September, the Masters final with the SKYULTRA will conclude the intensive skyrunning season for 2026.
2026 Masters Skyrunning World Championships, Arêches, Savoie, France
VERTICAL – Pierra Menta Verticale
MEN O40
Gold – Matthieu Gandolfi (FRA) 36’34”
Silver – Tomofumi Miyagawa (JPN) 37’49”
Bronze – Brendan Forrester (GBR) 39’09”
WOMEN O40
Gold – Marianna Jagercikova (SVK) 41’57”
Silver – Sofia Beizel (AIN) 45’18”
Bronze – Fabiana Gonçalves (POR) 48’51”
MEN O45
Gold – Ian Conroy (IRL) 37’07”
Silver – Tomofumi Okubo (JPN) 39’50”
Bronze – Americo Caldeira (POR) 40’06”
WOMEN O45
Gold – Charlotte Cotton (BEL) 42’29”
Silver – Carina Gois (POR) 52’10”
Bronze – Olivia Sousa (POR) 53’00”
MEN O50
Gold – Christian Hoffmann (AUT) 34’50”
Silver – Jacques Grillet Aubert (FRA) 34’52”
Bronze – Paul Faulkner (GBR) 37’47”
WOMEN O50
Gold – Dulamsuren Myagmar (MGL) 45’42”
Silver – Nienke Oostra (NED) 46’13”
Bronze – Paloma Lobera (ESP) 47’33”
MEN O55
Gold – Leonardo Diogo (POR) 38’15”
Silver – Wilfrid Jumère (FRA) 39’02”
Bronze – Thierry Lippi (FRA) 39’21”
WOMEN O55
Gold – Anne Marie Sturm-Begusch (AUT) 47’41”
Silver – Charlie Woodcock (GBR) 50’22”
Bronze – Emoke Paal (HUN) 53’03”
SKY – Skyrun du Grand Mont
MEN O40
Gold – Tetsuya Toyota (JPN) 3h33’45”
Silver – Tomofumi Miyagawa (JPN) 3h33’47”
Bronze – Michal Caladik (SVK) 3h44’07”
WOMEN O40
Gold – Celia Neto (POR) 4h16’40”
Silver – Fabiana Gonçalves (POR) 4h28’54”
Bronze – Rosalia Guachalla (BOL) 4h49’08”
MEN O45
Gold – Javier Barea (ESP) 3h26’14”
Silver – Americo Caldeira (POR) 3h33’15”
Bronze – Sergei Borovkov (AIN) 3h41’35”
WOMEN O45
Gold – Veradina Nacheva (BUL) 4h19’24”
Silver – Mila Ozretic (CRO) 4h43’24”
Bronze – Olivia Sousa (POR) 4h51’35”
MEN O50
Gold – Christian Hoffmann (AUT) 3h07’24”
Silver – Jacques Grillet Aubert (FRA) 3h34’45”
Bronze – Daniel Gay (GBR) 3h44’49”
WOMEN O50
Gold – Dulamsuren Myagmar (MGL) 4h23’38”
Silver – Paloma Lobera (ESP) 4h27’01”
Bronze – Ann Andries (BEL) 4h38’46”
MEN O55
Gold – Javier Rodriguez (ESP) 3h27’32”
Silver – Markus Stock (AUT) 3h39’14”
Bronze – Thierry Lippi (FRA) 3h49’45”
WOMEN O55
Gold – Ildiko Wermescher (HUN) 4h40’01”
Silver – Yasuko Miyasaka (JPN) 4h47’16”
Bronze – Reiko Itoh (JPN) 5h26’10”
Medal count
More info
CC Certified Courses and technical evaluation
Ranking – All athletes participating in the events are included in the ISF Ranking
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