Piazza and Thaler triumph at the South Tyrol Sky Marathon

In the marathon distance (44,5 km/2863 meters altitude), Georg Piazza from Val Gardena and - with the fastest time ever - Edeltraud Thaler from Lana prevailed. On the trail distance (27 km/180 meters altitude), the day's victory went to Luca Pescolldung (Stern im Gadertal) and the German Justine Jendro (Regensburg).

The starting signal for the South Tyrol Sky Marathon was given on Saturday at 7.30 a.m. sharp on the Talferwiesen. Top favorite Georg Piazza immediately took the lead. By the first checkpoint at the Rittner Horn after around 20 kilometers, the 42-year-old from St. Ulrich had gained a lead of two and a half minutes over his first pursuers Marco De Salvador (Bozen) and Lukas Mangger (Ridnaun). This had melted down to 30 seconds at the Sarner Scharte, which is why Piazza tightened up again and ultimately prevailed with a fabulous time of 4:04.57 hours. For comparison: Hannes Perkmann's course record is 3:58.05 hours, although this year the distance was two kilometers longer due to a closure after the rock fall at the Hotel Eberle.

"I'm really pleased. The route is beautiful, but also very strenuous. It is good for running, but also has some technical sections. I actually wanted to tackle the 121 kilometers this year, but unfortunately that didn't happen. But now here at the finish I'm glad that it was "just" the marathon," joked Piazza at the finish on the church square in Sarnthein, who saw De Salvador and Mangger arrive at the same time 4.40 minutes later. Both were rated as runners-up by the organizers. Martin Griesser from Freienfeld and ex-FCS professional Hans Rudi Brugger ensured that mountain runners from South Tyrol also ended up in fourth and fifth place. The perfect race from Thaler For the women, there was no way around Edeltraud Thaler, who won the South Tyrol Sky Marathon for the third time in a row. And in the fastest time ever. For the 55-year-old from Lana, the stopwatch stopped after 5:07.50 hours. Thaler was 48 seconds faster than two years ago - and on this year's longer route. “It was simply a perfect race in really optimal conditions. I never had a crisis and was always able to accelerate. I've had days like that maybe five or six times in my career. These are the races that you will remember fondly for a long time,” beamed the grand dame of the South Tyrolean running scene after reaching the finish line.

Happy: Edeltraud Thaler © hkMedia

Second place in the South Tyrol Sky Marathon went to local hero Regina Spieß, who won the South Tyrol Skyrace in 2018 and took second place in the ultra distance a year later. This year Spieß recorded a time of 5:25.18 hours. Meanwhile, a mountain athlete from Finland completed the podium. Riina Kuuselo from Tampere broke the six-hour barrier in 5:57.38. Pescolldungg lurks, attacks and wins Luca Pescolldungg more than lived up to his role as favorite on the South Tyrol Sky Trail. The Spartan athlete from Stern in Val Badia reached Sarnthein after 2:24.40 hours. On the final descending section, Pescolldungg really stepped on the gas again, as he increased his lead over second-placed Sarner Andreas Innerebner from almost three to 6.44 minutes. Thomas Holzmann from Jenesien (2:36.55), who won the first edition of the South Tyrol Sky Trail in 2018, was happy about third place.

“The last Spartan competition from last week was still a bit in my bones, which is why I didn't want to attack on the climb to Jenesien. When it got flatter, I attacked and immediately found a great rhythm that I was able to keep until the finish. I really like races like this, with steep climbs but also flat sections and technical downhill. If I don’t have another race on the program next year, I will come back,” said Pescolldungg.

Justine Jendro from Regensburg, on the other hand, is the winner of the South Tyrol Sky Trail 2021. The 29-year-old was the only athlete to stay under the magical three-hour limit in 2:54.55. She relegated Renate Kreidl from Naturns (3:01.06) and Michaela Schrott from Laion (3:34.01) to the places of honor. “Of course I’m very happy about the win. I felt very comfortable on the climb, I particularly like these passages,” said Jendro during the winner’s interview on the church square in Sarnthein. South Tyrol Skyrace also in 2022 The South Tyrol Ultra Skyrace is scheduled to take place again next year. From August 26th to 28th, 2022, the organizers want to offer all four distances again and thus also the two long routes, the South Tyrol Ultra Skyrace with 121 km and 7554 meters of altitude, and the South Tyrol Skyrace (69 km/3930 meters of altitude).

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Piazza and Thaler triumph at the South Tyrol Sky Marathon

The special edition of the South Tyrol Ultra Skyrace came to an end late on Saturday morning with favorites winning, in which only the two “short” routes were held this year due to the pandemic.

Suggestions

Comments (0)