Kilian Jornet became the first athlete to complete the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in less than 20 hours when he won the mountain trail running classic in 19 hours 49 minutes 30 seconds. The 34-year-old Catalan – who lives in Rauma, Norway with his Swedish wife Emilie Forsberg and their two children – won his first UTMB since 2011 in record time.

UTMB is a week-long celebration of endurance mountain trail running amidst the spectacular scenery of the snow-capped Mont-Blanc massif above Chamonix, France. The 19th edition was held between 22-28 August and the obvious highlight is the elite, continuous 171.6km UTMB that circuits Mont-Blanc via France, Italy, and Switzerland, with 10,091 metres of ascent. Up to 3,000 runners participate in 'semi-autonomy' or self-sufficiency between aid stations.

Completing such a tough challenge in less than 20 hours has been likened to breaking the world marathon record in significance and in this year's race the first two men achieved that astonishing feat. Kilian Jornet (19:49:30) finished just over five minutes ahead of Frenchman Matthieu Blanchard (19:54:50).

Third place went to British athlete Tom Evans (20:34:35) on his UTMB debut, having previously won the much shorter Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix race in 2018. The former Army Captain can be seen giving a military salute as he finishes in this atmospheric video...

The women's race was won by an American, Katie Schide (23:15:12) after a great battle with Marianne Hogan (Canada, 24:31:22) and Kaytlyn Gerbin (USA, 25:07:44).

Sadly, this year's event was marred by the death of a runner in the Petite Trotte à Léon (PTL) event on Tuesday 23 August. The UTMB Group posted this statement on the event website:

"At 01:30am CET on Tuesday 23rd August, the UTMB Race Committee was informed that a PTL runner had a serious accident near the Refuge de Plan Glacier. The runner was with his team on an official trail, which is secured for the PTL and marked throughout the year, between the Col de Tricot and the Refuge de Plan Glacier. The rescue helicopter team responded to the scene, following which they confirmed the death of the runner. The runner involved in the incident is a Brazilian national, and out of respect for the family, the organizers will maintain their anonymity". 

Image and video courtesy UTMB Facebook