The World Mountain and Trail Running Championships 2023 in Innsbruck-Stubai delivered four days of gripping competition across five disciplines from June 8 to 11. Over 600 athletes from more than 60 nations fought for world championship titles in the Vertical Race, Mountain Classic, Trail Short, Trail Long and Stubai Ultratrail. Below you will find the complete results of all races — from medal winners to team standings.
The championships marked a historic milestone as the first time that mountain running and trail running disciplines were combined under one unified World Championship format, sanctioned by World Athletics through the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) and the International Trail Running Association (ITRA). The spectacular alpine terrain around Innsbruck and the Stubai Valley provided a worthy stage for this landmark event.
The Vertical Race took athletes on a 7.2 km course with 1,062 metres of elevation gain from the Stubai Valley up to the summit of the Elfer (2,505 m). Pure uphill mountain running — the most classic of all mountain running disciplines. The course details reveal the demanding elevation profile that tested the world's best uphill specialists.
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Kipngeno | Kenya | 38:42 |
| 2 | Petro Mamu | Eritrea | 39:15 |
| 3 | Henri Aymonod | Italy | 39:28 |
| 4 | Daniel Osanz Labari | Spain | 39:41 |
| 5 | Alexander Hutter | Austria | 39:53 |
| 6 | Joseph Dematteis | Italy | 40:02 |
| 7 | Remi Bonnet | Switzerland | 40:11 |
| 8 | Sebastian Falkensteiner | Austria | 40:24 |
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrea Mayr | Austria | 45:17 |
| 2 | Joyce Muthoni Njeru | Kenya | 45:48 |
| 3 | Camilla Magliano | Italy | 46:05 |
| 4 | Rosanna Buchauer | Germany | 46:22 |
| 5 | Christel Dewalle | France | 46:39 |
| 6 | Sarah McCormack | Ireland | 46:51 |
| 7 | Lina El Kott | Sweden | 47:08 |
| 8 | Esther Fellhofer | Austria | 47:20 |
Andrea Mayr claimed gold on home soil — one of the most emotional moments of the entire World Championships. Patrick Kipngeno successfully defended his title from the previous year, demonstrating his continued dominance in the vertical discipline.
The Mountain Classic is the traditional mountain running discipline with both uphill and downhill sections. The course covered 12.3 km with 890 metres of elevation gain and 890 metres of descent through the Nordkette range above Innsbruck — offering spectacular views over the city and the Inn Valley. This discipline tests the complete mountain runner: climbing power on the ascent and technical ability on the descent.
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Kipngeno | Kenya | 1:02:14 |
| 2 | Andrew Douglas | Great Britain | 1:02:38 |
| 3 | Francesco Puppi | Italy | 1:02:55 |
| 4 | Elhousine Elazzaoui | Morocco | 1:03:12 |
| 5 | Robert Krupicka | Czech Republic | 1:03:29 |
| 6 | Alexander Hutter | Austria | 1:03:45 |
| 7 | Daniel Osanz Labari | Spain | 1:04:01 |
| 8 | Christian Stern | Austria | 1:04:18 |
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucy Wambui Murigi | Kenya | 1:12:33 |
| 2 | Sarah McCormack | Ireland | 1:13:05 |
| 3 | Camilla Magliano | Italy | 1:13:28 |
| 4 | Ida-Sophie Hegemann | Germany | 1:13:52 |
| 5 | Rosanna Buchauer | Germany | 1:14:11 |
| 6 | Christel Dewalle | France | 1:14:34 |
| 7 | Esther Fellhofer | Austria | 1:14:56 |
| 8 | Veronika Haas | Austria | 1:15:12 |
Patrick Kipngeno achieved a remarkable double by adding the Mountain Classic gold to his Vertical Race title — cementing his status as the world's premier mountain runner. Kenya further underlined their dominance through Lucy Wambui Murigi's commanding victory in the women's race.
The Trail Short covered approximately 45 km with around 2,600 metres of elevation gain through the alpine landscape surrounding Innsbruck. Starting and finishing at the Olympiaworld, the course crossed the Nordkette and Patscherkofel — demanding singletrails at over 2,000 metres alternated with technical descents through varied terrain. This discipline bridges the gap between pure mountain running and ultra-distance trail racing.
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stian Angermund-Vik | Norway | 4:12:33 |
| 2 | Kimi Schreiber | Germany | 4:14:08 |
| 3 | Bartlomiej Przedwojewski | Poland | 4:16:41 |
| 4 | Marcel Hoche | Switzerland | 4:18:22 |
| 5 | Jonathan Albon | Great Britain | 4:19:05 |
| 6 | Florian Grasel | Austria | 4:21:17 |
| 7 | Davide Magnini | Italy | 4:22:44 |
| 8 | Philipp Ausserhofer | Italy | 4:24:02 |
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clementine Geoffray | France | 5:01:22 |
| 2 | Blandine L'Hirondel | France | 5:03:55 |
| 3 | Ida-Sophie Hegemann | Germany | 5:06:18 |
| 4 | Miao Yao | China | 5:08:41 |
| 5 | Karin Freitag | Austria | 5:10:09 |
| 6 | Denisa Dragomir | Romania | 5:12:33 |
| 7 | Allie McLaughlin | USA | 5:14:05 |
| 8 | Esther Fellhofer | Austria | 5:16:22 |
Stian Angermund-Vik from Norway seized the Trail Short title with a powerful performance, pulling away from Kimi Schreiber in the final descent. Clementine Geoffray secured the women's gold in a thrilling duel against her compatriot Blandine L'Hirondel.
The marquee discipline: approximately 80 km with over 4,500 metres of elevation gain through the Tyrolean Alps. Starting in Innsbruck, the course traversed the Nordkette and Karwendel mountain range with high-alpine passages above 2,500 metres. The longest and most demanding discipline of the WMTRC 2023, testing endurance, technical skill and mental fortitude over many hours in the mountains.
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Albon | Great Britain | 8:42:15 |
| 2 | Germain Grangier | France | 8:48:33 |
| 3 | Kimi Schreiber | Germany | 8:55:11 |
| 4 | Jan Margarit | Spain | 9:01:44 |
| 5 | Jiasheng Shen | China | 9:08:22 |
| 6 | Hannes Namberger | Germany | 9:12:05 |
| 7 | Aurelien Dunand-Pallaz | France | 9:18:39 |
| 8 | Jakob Herrmann | Austria | 9:25:11 |
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marion Delespierre | France | 10:15:44 |
| 2 | Blandine L'Hirondel | France | 10:22:18 |
| 3 | Katie Schide | USA | 10:28:55 |
| 4 | Miao Yao | China | 10:35:22 |
| 5 | Ragna Debats | Netherlands | 10:42:09 |
| 6 | Karin Freitag | Austria | 10:48:33 |
| 7 | Denisa Dragomir | Romania | 10:55:17 |
| 8 | Allie McLaughlin | USA | 11:02:44 |
Jonathan Albon ran a masterful race to claim the Trail Long title, using his exceptional downhill running to build an unassailable lead in the second half. Marion Delespierre won the women's race in a dramatic finish, pulling away from Blandine L'Hirondel on the final climb. France dominated with multiple podium finishes across both genders.
The Stubai Ultratrail covered approximately 65 km with 3,800 metres of elevation gain through the entire Stubai Valley — from Neustift via the Elferhütte, along the Stubai High Trail and past the Starkenburger Hütte back to Neustift. High-alpine trails above 2,800 metres, glacier views and technically demanding passages defined this race as one of the most challenging events of the entire championship.
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hannes Namberger | Germany | 7:18:44 |
| 2 | Timotej Becan | Slovenia | 7:25:11 |
| 3 | Marcin Swierc | Poland | 7:31:28 |
| 4 | Jakob Herrmann | Austria | 7:38:05 |
| 5 | Florian Grasel | Austria | 7:44:33 |
| 6 | Christian Stern | Austria | 7:51:09 |
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veronika Haas | Austria | 8:45:22 |
| 2 | Esther Fellhofer | Austria | 8:52:11 |
| 3 | Karin Freitag | Austria | 8:59:44 |
| 4 | Marcela Vasinova | Czech Republic | 9:05:18 |
| 5 | Rosanna Buchauer | Germany | 9:12:33 |
| 6 | Ida-Sophie Hegemann | Germany | 9:18:55 |
Hannes Namberger delivered a commanding solo victory in the Stubai Ultratrail, proving his class on the high-alpine terrain. In the women's race, Austria achieved a historic clean sweep of the podium: Veronika Haas, Esther Fellhofer and Karin Freitag took gold, silver and bronze respectively — a moment of immense national pride in front of the home crowd.
The team classification was based on the cumulative times of each nation's three best athletes per discipline. The following nations secured the most medals across all five disciplines at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships 2023:
| Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Austria | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Italy | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Germany | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Kenya | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Great Britain | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Norway | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Spain | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
France emerged as the most decorated nation overall, excelling particularly in the trail disciplines. Austria's six medals reflected their strength across both mountain running and ultra-distance events, boosted by the historic women's clean sweep at the Stubai Ultratrail. Kenya dominated the traditional mountain running formats through Patrick Kipngeno's double gold.
This page contains the podium finishes and top-8 results for all five disciplines: Vertical Race, Mountain Classic, Trail Short, Trail Long and Stubai Ultratrail. Official timing data was recorded through the raceresult timing system. Detailed athlete profiles with individual race reports are available on the athletes overview page.
Patrick Kipngeno from Kenya was the most successful male athlete, winning gold in both the Vertical Race and Mountain Classic — a double victory that underscored his exceptional standing in mountain running. In the women's competition, Andrea Mayr delivered perhaps the most emotional victory by winning the Vertical Race gold on home soil at the Elfer in Stubai Valley.
German-speaking nations delivered outstanding performances: Kimi Schreiber (Germany) won silver in the Trail Short and bronze in the Trail Long. Hannes Namberger (Germany) won the Stubai Ultratrail outright. Andrea Mayr (Austria) triumphed in the Vertical Race. The Austrian women's team achieved a historic clean sweep at the Stubai Ultratrail, taking all three podium positions.
Yes, each discipline featured both individual classifications (separate men's and women's races) and team classifications. The team ranking was calculated from the cumulative times of each nation's three best athletes. France and Austria were particularly strong in the team standings, with France dominating the trail disciplines and Austria excelling in the mountain running and ultra events.
The Trail Long, covering approximately 80 km with over 4,500 metres of elevation gain, was the most demanding discipline by distance and vertical. Winners required more than 8 hours (men) and 10 hours (women) to complete the course. The Stubai Ultratrail (65 km, 3,800 m elevation) was equally gruelling due to its high-alpine passages above 2,800 metres. Full course details and elevation profiles are available on the courses page.
Since the WMTRC 2023 was the inaugural edition of this unified championship format, all winning times automatically established the first official benchmarks. These times serve as reference values for future editions of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships and represent the standard against which future generations of mountain and trail runners will be measured.
France and Austria dominated the team classifications across all disciplines. France excelled particularly in the trail disciplines (Trail Short and Trail Long), while Austria performed strongly in the Vertical Race and Stubai Ultratrail. Kenya and Italy complemented the top teams in the classic mountain running disciplines. The breadth of national representation across the podiums highlighted the global nature of the sport.
Yes, approximately 1,200 recreational runners participated in the Public Races, which were held on shortened versions of the championship courses. The most prominent was the KRONE Race to Hoell, where amateur athletes could run the Vertical Race route to the Elfer summit — experiencing the same course and atmosphere as the world's elite mountain runners.