American Ben Dhiman and France's Blandine L'Hirondel won the men's and women's titles at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) in Chamonix on Saturday (Aug 29), in a chaotic 23rd edition that saw storms reshape the course and several of the sport's biggest names fail to finish.
Dhiman completed the 174km route around the Mont Blanc massif in 18:16:29 – the fastest time in the event's history and the first finish inside 19 hours. Runner-up 12 months ago behind Britain's Tom Evans, he took control early, reaching Courmayeur, 81km in, more than 19 minutes clear of the field, and crossed the line in Chamonix 31:09 ahead of France's Baptiste Chassagne, runner-up for the second time in three years. American Caleb Olson completed the podium in 18:48:24, just 46 seconds behind Chassagne after a late charge that saw him pass Ecuador's Joaquin Lopez in the closing stages.
L'Hirondel's win, in 21:54:49, was similarly the fastest women's time ever recorded on the course. She took the lead after Courtney Dauwalter's overnight withdrawal at Lac Combal, roughly 70km in, and steadily extended her advantage from there, eventually finishing well clear of American duo Rachel Entrekin and Emily Schmitz despite suffering several falls in the closing kilometres.
Entrekin was second in 22:15:54 on her UTMB debut, with Schmitz third in 22:17:28.
Neither winning time can be officially recognised as a course record. Organisers delayed the start by two hours because of forecast thunderstorms and cut the route's Pyramides Calcaires section above Les Chapieux as a precaution, reducing the total climbing from around 9900m to 9700m.
L'Hirondel's victory carries particular weight. She had barely raced since injuring her leg at Transvulcania in May and had lowered her own expectations for Chamonix to simply reaching the start line healthy. She becomes the first Frenchwoman to win UTMB since Caroline Chaverot in 2016 and only the second woman in the race's history, after Ruth Croft, to complete the OCC-CCC-UTMB triple crown, having won the OCC in 2021 and the CCC in 2022.
Both races were upended by a wave of late withdrawals and pre-race absences. Four-time champion Kilian Jornet withdrew on August 20 needing knee surgery, while 2023 winner Jim Walmsley did not race and defending champion Evans opted not to return.
Croft, the 2025 women's champion, withdrew two days before the start, and course-record holder Katie Schide missed the race entirely with a foot injury.
Overnight, 2024 men's champion Vincent Bouillard and three-time women's champion Dauwalter both dropped out at Lac Combal within 13 minutes of each other, among 177 withdrawals recorded in the race's first 12 hours.
