The Skyrunner® World Series has announced that Merrell will be the official Apparel and Footwear Partner of the circuit for the fourth consecutive season. Together, the international racing circuit and global outdoor brand prepare to go above and beyond the clouds to deliver the strongest season to date.
The 2023 season features 13 races in eight countries around the world, a prize money pool of €100,000 and an elite athlete field of over 100 of the world’s leading skyrunners competing for the overall title, making it the ideal platform for outdoor brand, Merrell, to showcase its leading technical skyrunning shoe and athletes.
“If it’s not broke don’t fix it”, comments Seana Forbes, SWS Head of Operations, “We are looking forward to starting a new season with Merrell by our side. Since 2020, the Skyrunner® World Series and Merrell have forged a successful partnership based on our shared values and vision. Merrell has been the perfect partner, not only due to its incredible skyrunning shoes (personal favorites) and athletes, but also because it has supported the world series through some turbulent years and now we have come out the other end stronger than ever, together. We are confident this will be the best year yet!”
“Merrell is delighted to continue our partnership with the Skyrunner World Series”, adds Tim Selby, VP, GM Merrell EMEA, “Over the last few years working together we have united in our development of the best of the best. This partnership coupled with our Merrell Trail Team is part of our Merrell Test Lab (MTL) project which develops and proves our fastest trail shoes at the top of our sport. We know that if our shoes can power our athletes to the podium of the Skyrunner World Series they can power us anywhere!”
This year, the Merrell athlete team will be led by Denisa Dragomir, the 2021 overall ranking champion and favorite for the coming season. The partnership coincides with the launch of Merrell’s brand new MTL Skyfire 2 – a shoe designed specifically for speed on technical trails. Jon Sanregret, Global Product Line Manager for Merrell Trail Running comments:
“The MTL Skyfire 2 is the lightest plated trail running shoe on the market and its innovation comes in the form of extreme use capability. Like a track spike for the mountain, it has a unique blend of traction, under-foot protection and agility that lends itself perfectly to vertical mountain race environments and athletes looking to achieve their personal best. All in all, Merrell has spent more than 6,000 hours in ideation, creation, and athlete product testing during the development of the MTL Skyfire 2. In its various forms, Merrell has worked on this model for more than four years including previous prototypes. For quick dry capability we selected a single layer of engineered mesh for the upper with reinforced zones in the mesh for durability and breathability. In our independent lab research, we learned the MTL Skyfire 2 retained less water than leading trail shoes after being fully submerged, and that after 24 hours the shoes were 98% fully dry.”
To celebrate the launch of the new Skyfire 2 and SWS partnership, Merrell will be giving fans a chance to win one of five pairs of the brand new MTL Skyfire 2. Find out more about the Competition on the Merrell Website.
The 2023 Skyrunner® World Series kicks off on April 29th with Calamorro Skyrace in Spain
