It was victories for Denisa Dragomir and Christian Mathys today at the sixth edition of the legendary Livigno SkyMarathon. The mecca of outdoor sports welcomed an international field of top skyrunners to its world-famous course for the second race of the 2021 Skyrunner® World Series.
Italy’s Livigno, famous for its technical ridges, was the place to be for skyrunners today. Although still some snow on the route, the organizational team – including Italy’s home champion, Marco DeGasperi – managed to, once again, deliver a fantastic course to satisfy the technical needs of its impressive lineup.
Taking the lead from start to finish, both male and female champions were taking no prisoners on their mission to be crowned the king and queen of the mountain.
After winning the 2019 SkyMasters, expectations of Denisa Dragomir were high and she did not disappoint. Not allowing any pressure to get to her, the Romanian athlete made it look easy, effortlessly crossing the finish line with a time of 4h38’13”, 20 minutes ahead of Eli Anne Dvergsdal of Norway in second. Germany’s Rosanna Buchauer completed the women’s podium with a time of 5h02’47”.
“I have always dreamed of racing here in Livigno. For the past month, I have trained only specifically for this race, so as you can imagine it feels amazing to win here today. I hope this is just the beginning of a great season. We’ve all been waiting to enjoy the feeling of racing again.” – Dragomir.
© Guillem Casavnova
In the men’s race, Christian Mathys of Switzerland was determined to prove that he is the man to beat this season. Although a fairly successful 2019 season, with a second-place finish at the Matterhorn Ultraks Extreme and third at the SkyMasters, this is his first Skyrunner® World Series win and if today’s performance is anything to go by, it won’t be his last.
Mathys was untouchable from the world “go”, storming to victory with a time of 3h50’25”, 4minutes ahead of Spain’s Manuel Merillas in second and 10 minutes ahead of his fellow Swiss runner Pascal Buchs in third, who continuously battled with the likes of Gianluca Ghianoand Ander Inarra for the podium.
Surprisingly, it was not a good day for local heroes Elisa Desco and Daniel Antonioli who both missed out on podium positions – Desco due to an ankle injury and Antonioli suffering from heat issues in the last uphill.
In just one week, with the adrenaline from today’s race still running through our veins, we cross the border to Austria for the third race of the Skyrunner® World Series – The Kaiserkrone Skyrace®. Tune in on the 26th of June to see big names take on a brand new and very technical course.
Livigno SkyMarathon 2021 Results
Women:
1. Denisa Dragomir (ROM) – team Merrell – 04:38:13
2. Eli Anne Dvergsdal (NOR) – team Dynafit – 04:57:20
3. Rosanna Buchauer (GER) – team Dynafit – 05:02:47
4. Mayi Mujika (ESP) – team Basque – 05:03:21
5. Stephanie Kröll (AUT) – team Mountainshop Hörhager – 05:12:47
Men:
1. Christian Mathys (SUI) Team Swiss Athletics – 03:50:25
2. Manuel Merillas (ESP) – team Scarpa – 03:54:17
3. Pascal Buchs (SUI) – Team Scott – 04:00:18
4. Gianluca Ghiano (ITA) – Team ASD Autocogliati – 04:01:59
5. Ander Inarra – (ESP) – Team Basque – 04:02:45
