African athletes are on top of the world as Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) athletes head to Ascona-Locarno, Switzerland for the Grand Final this weekend. The programme includes a 7-kilometre prologue with 400 metres of vertical elevation and a 23.5 km race with 1,400 metres of vertical elevation.
Each athlete who scored points in one of this year’s GTWS eight races can have a shot at scoring more points in the grand. And with a maximum of 400 points to win in this final – 100 points for the prologue and 300 points for the final race – anything can happen!
In addition to the elite athletes determining the winners of the 2024 GTWS, the two top elite and under 23 men and women from each National Series (GTNS) have also been invited to participate in this final and will be battling it out for the GTNS ranking.
The “Ascona Locarno Golden Trail Finals”, which will take place on the picturesque trails of Cardada, a beautiful local mountain in nature, will see 160 professional athletes competing, including the top 30 trail runners in the world.
Both the prologue and race will be run on “flower format” routes, featuring a start, finish and several passages through the Fan Zone, where the public can fully enjoy the spectacle.
Moroccan athlete Elhousine Elazzaoui (Team Nnormal) and Kenyan trail ace Joyce Njeru (Team Atletica Saluzzo) won last year’s GTWS grand finale in Italy and head the current GTWS rankings. Their recent form suggests they will be hard to dethrone, but anything can happen in the final, with the world’s top sub-marathon-distance trail athletes competing for the lucrative prizes at stake.
Demonstrating that Africa is moving to dominate trail running as it has dominated distance running on road and track in recent years, Kenyans Patrick Kipngeno and Philemon Kiriago currently are placed second the third respectively in the rankings and appear the athletes most likely to topple ‘The Flying Camel’ Elazzaoui.
But don’t write off home country heroes, Swiss athletes Remi Bonnet, Roberto Delorenzi and Joey Hadorn, currently in 4th, 7th and 8th positions respectively, while if Polish star, Bart Przedwojewski (6th), can recapture the magic he made in winning the 2018 final at the Otter African Trail Run, he cannot be discounted.
Romanian Mădălina Florea has shown impressive form this season and appears the athlete most likely to upset Njeru in the women’s competition, while Swiss athlete, Maude Matthys, unbeatable two years back, remains competitive in third place on the rankings and knows what it takes to win.
Like their male counterparts, Switzerland has three athletes within the top ten, with Judith Wyder (5th) and Theres Leboeuf (6th) well capable of podium positions and valuable points from the weekend’s racing.
Current GTWS Rankings
Men
1. Elhousine Elazzaoui (MAR – Nnormal): 600 pts
2. Patrick Kipngeno (KEN – Run2gether/On Ag): 588 pts
3. Philemon Kiriago (KEN – Run2gether/On Ag): 552 pts
4. Rémi Bonnet (CHE – Salomon/Red Bull): 520 pts
5. Daniel Pattis (ITA – Brooks): 488 pts
6. Bart Przedwojewski (POL – Salomon): 478 pts
7. Roberto Delorenzi (CHE – Brooks): 476 pts
8. Joey Hadorn (CHE – Salomon): 456 pts
9. Alain Santamaria (ESP – Salomon): 420 pts
10. Marcin Kubica (POL – Salomon): 418 pts
Women
1. Joyce Njeru (KEN – Atletica Saluzzo): 600 pts
2. Mădălina Florea (ROU – Salomon): 564 pts
3. Maude Mathys (CHE – Asics): 532 pts
4. Malen Osa (ESP – Salomon): 500 pts
5. Judith Wyder (CHE – Hoka/Red Bull): 487 pts
6. Theres Leboeuf (CHE – Compressport): 478 pts
7. Miao Yao (CHN – Salomon): 476 pts
8. Anna Gibson (USA – Brooks): 470 pts
9. Sylvia Nordskar (NOR – Hoka): 457 pts
10. Marta Martinez Abellan (ESP – La Sportiva): 444 pts
