American duo dominate the 82km trail race at the Canfranc-Pirineos World Championships.

Americans Jim Walmsley and Katie Schide have been crowned world champions in the long trail discipline on the third day of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, which conclude on Sunday (Sept 28) in the town of Canfranc, in the Aragonese Pyrenees.

Walmsley wins men's title

In the men’s category, the American came into the race with a gold medal from the Short Trail at Patagonia 2019, after a tight battle with Francesco Puppi. On Saturday, however, he dominated this Long Trail race with an iron grip from start to finish, tackling a course that ran through the heart of the Pyrenees with significantly greater technical demands.

Walmsley took the lead from the Canfranc International Station and was relentlessly pursued throughout the race by the French duo Louison Coiffet and 2023 world champion Benjamin Roubiol. By the time they reached Candanchú at km 60, Roubiol had dropped back slightly, while Coiffet was just a few seconds behind. Close behind them were heavyweights like Peter Engdahl, Cristian Minoggio, and Peter Frano—all within just 15 minutes, with the race still wide open.

However, the French runners regrouped, and the leading trio held firm. The final descent to the finish line only confirmed the standings: gold for Walmsley in 8:35:11, while Roubiol and Coiffet crossed the finish line together to share the silver medal with a time of 8:46:05.

Walmsley said: "It was a much faster day than I had planned for. I was aiming for a maximum of 10 hours, but I chose to go on the attack early to prevent anyone from breaking away. I actually planned to push in the second half, but I felt great from the start and managed to keep it up all the way to the finish."

France won team gold from the United States with Italy third.

Schide dominates women's race

Schide took the lead from the start and never looked back in a race where she displayed overwhelming dominance. By the time she passed the Ibón de Truchas at the 40km mark, she had already built a 30-minute lead over her closest chasers—Nepal’s Sunmaya Budha and Italy’s Fabiola Conti.

In the second half of the race, the lead trio held their positions, with Budha widening the gap over Conti. Further back, Canada’s Jazmine Lowther and Spain’s Rosa María Lara gained ground and moved into the top five during the final section. Schide took the win in 9:57:59, followed by Budha in 10:23:03 and Conti in 10:35:51.

Schide said: "I went out fast so that when we hit technical sections, I already had a solid gap, which allowed me to race more defensively on the descents. Running on technical terrain like Canfranc felt very natural to me, because of where I grew up in the US and my years living in neighbouring France."

Italy won team gold from France and the United States.

The race featured an 81km course with 5400m of positive elevation gain. Among the many highlights of this Long Trail, runners climbed La Moleta, descended into the Izas Valley, and ascended the namesake pass, traversing Pico Royo, Formigal, and the Portalet border crossing.

They entered France through the Pyrenees National Park, enjoying some of the most spectacular sections of the range, including the Ayous Lakes, before returning via Candanchú and making a fast final descent to the Canfranc Station from the Estiviellas Pass.