Urban flair and mountains - hardly any other city can compete with Innsbruck when it comes to combining the two, which was proven once again, in an impressive way, with today’s Mountain Classic. The route led up to 937 m.a.s.l. along steep and narrow trails along the flanks of the Nordkette, before it turned down again and over the Inn bridge back into the city. Outside the “Golden Roof”, Innsbruck’s landmark, the athletes delivered the final sprint on an approximately 200 meter long, artificial trail. This World Championship course was as selective as it was demanding, alternating steep ramps and technical trails.
The continuous change between long downhill and uphill sections challenged the athletes and kept pushing their legs to the limit. “I just wanted to quit. But I had to keep going,” says the Swede Tove Alexandersson, who secured second place. After the first loop, she experienced a drop in performance but fought her way back. There was only one she couldn’t catch up with: Grayson Murphy from the USA, who finished first and thus secured the first and, for her personally, a very special Gold medal for her country at these World Championships. “I wasn’t able to participate in Thailand last year because of an injury. It took a lot of time and patience to fight my way back. But I’m glad I listened to my body and persevered,” Murphy said after the race.
Third place went to Joyce Muthoni from Kenya, who had a message for the hosts: “I would like to thank you for inviting team Kenya.” Her teammate Ombogo Kiriago Philemon also won a medal for the East African country, and he did so with a great performance even though his running shoes broke mid-way through the race. He crossed the finish line after Leonard Chemutai, while German Filimon Abraham secured Bronze after a gripping race. In addition to the constantly changing up- and downhill passages, the flat section on the way to the city also provided some important decisions, as it allowed the African athletes to play to their strengths.
Austrian Manuel Innerhofer was less fortunate. In an interview, he briefly touched on his accident: “There was a sign in a sharp left turn. I took the corner as tightly as possible and had my eyes on the ground. At this point I was running behind an Englishman who must have obviously been able to avoid the sign, but I ran straight into it. I grabbed my head and at first thought it was just a bump. But it kept getting bigger and eventually I had blood running down my face, so I couldn't keep going. Health is more important to me than performance.”
In the morning, the young athletes between the ages of 16 and 18 had their own opportunity to put their talent to the test. First, the men ran one lap of the Mountain Classic course, and after an exciting chase, James Kirwa and his teammate Hosea Chemutai overtook Matthieu Bührer and relegated the Swiss to third place. They too were able to show their strengths on the flat passage leading back to the city.
At 2 PM, the women took off, with Briton Rebecca Flaherty soon taking the lead among the runners, which she was able to keep until the end. Behind her, the Spaniard Ines Herault and the Italian Lucia Arnoldo crossed the finish line. Towards the end, the gap between the leader and her runner-up was a mere eight seconds. With the mountain classic races for seniors and juniors, the World Mountain and Trail Running championships race days came to a fitting end.
