World medallists and skyrunning super stars from across the globe will line up for the 2024 Skyrunning World Championships at the Desafío Urbión in Soria, Spain, September 6 – 8, 2024. Promising to be the biggest in skyrunning history, a record 310 athletes from 41 countries will participate in the VERTICAL, SKY and SKYULTRA disciplines.
World titles and 27 medals are at stake for Individuals and Official Teams, together with a Combined title based on the best results of the VERTICAL and SKY races.
The events launch on Thursday, 5 September, where a parade of the national teams will proudly carry their country flags, followed by:
- Friday, 6 September – VERTICAL – VK Los Neveros – Ágreda: 8 km long with 1,050m vertical climb
- Saturday, 7 September – SKYULTRA – Desafío Urbión SkyUltra: 70 km long with 4,350m vertical climb
- Sunday, 8 September – SKY – La Desafío Urbión: 37 km long with 2,540m vertical climb
The star-studded line-up counts no less than 46 medallists from past ISF Championships:
- Cristian Minoggio (ITA) – 2022 World and 2023 European SKYULTRA Champion
- Joseph DeMoor (USA) – 2022 World VERTICAL Champion
- Ruy Ueda (JPN) – 2020 World VERTICAL and COMBINED Champion
- Martin Nilsson (SWE) – 2024 SkySnow Classic World Champion
- Naiara Irigoyen (ESP) – 2023 European VERTICAL Champion
- Lorenzo Beltrami (ITA) – 2023 European SKY Champion
- Gemma Arenas (ESP) – 2023 European SKYULTRA Champion
- Karina Carsolio (MEX) – 2023 North & Central American SKY Champion
- Jhosep Mamani (PER) – 2023 South American VERTICAL Champion
- Sandro Arcanjo (BRA) – 2023 South American SKY Champion
- Emerson Trujillo (PER) – 2023 South American SKYULTRA Champion
- Ivania Rambo (BRA) – 2023 South American SKYULTRA Champion
Karina Carsolio from Mexico, 2023 North & Central American SKY Champion and 2023 joint winner of the Monte Rosa SkyMarathon, Europe’s highest race, commented, “I don’t know what to expect from these World Championships or how I will perform on the runnable parts as I’m not that fast on those sections, but I’m very excited to be there and share my passion for the mountains with other athletes.
“I hope to recover well after Kima as I feel that I’m in the right moment of my career to aim for a podium. What I like in this sport is that every day is different, and anything can happen, so I will just give my best and see what happens!”
American Joseph DeMoor, 2022 World VERTICAL Champion, stated, “I’ll probably have a bit more of a target this year which has given me extra motivation. I’m most excited for the overall team the USA has this year – I’ll be pushing myself as far as possible for all of them.”
Spain’s Gemma Arenas, 2023 European SKYULTRA Champion, is aiming high. “This year is a double motivation as the world championships are here in my country. I trained hard to be as prepared as possible to face the 72km with 4,500m of vertical of the SkyUltra. I will fight for it and if I can get the gold, it would be incredible!”
The organisers of the host venue in central Spain commented, “On behalf of the Desafío Urbión team we are proud to host the Skyrunning World Championships on our tenth edition. We have worked hard to host this event of great international calibre and to put the name of Soria on the skyrunning world map.
“Maintaining our commitment to sustainability and protection of the natural environment, the event has been awarded the prestigious GREEN LABEL certificate and also represents an important economic injection for our province and the host municipalities – as well as a powerful tool to promote sport in the region.
“The Sierra de Urbión, one of the wildest and most beautiful natural spaces in Spanish orography, will no doubt leave these world-class athletes with unforgettable images.”
Forty-one countries from across five continents will participate:
Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czechia, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong (China), Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Venezuela.
Italy, Spain and Japan took the medals at the last World Championships in Piedmont, Italy, in 2022. The countdown has now begun for the 2024 Skyrunning World Championships where skyrunners from around the world will gather to celebrate their passion for this unique sport. The battle is on!
FEDME, the Spanish Mountain Sports Federation and ISF Member for Spain, will sanction the events and oversee them with their referees.
Following ISF protocol, WADA antidoping tests will be carried out at the Championships.
Concomitant with the Skyrunning World Championships, the ISF Annual General Assembly will be held at the venue on September 5.
ISF President and skyrunning founder, Marino Giacometti, commented, “After holding many major events in Spain, we look forward to this third World Championship here where a record number of countries from five continents will participate. Wishing everyone, as usual, Less cloud. More sky!”
Follow the championships with live streaming (in Spanish) here on Aragón Radio.
Full list of participants
More info
Event website
FEDME website with event info
