Premiere: 2 winners at the South Tyrol Ultra Skyrace

The sporting results took a back seat in view of a fatal accident at this year's Skyrace ( see own report ).

Hours earlier there had been smiling faces at the finish line. After 121 kilometers and 7554 meters in altitude, Josef Thaler from Ultimo and Gerald “Sancho” Fister from Finkenstein in Austria took victory - for the first time two runners crossed the finish line at the same time.

The duo completed the horseshoe tour in an incredible 17:43.00 hours, making it the second fastest time ever run at the South Tyrol Ultra Skyrace. Josef Thaler and Gerald Fister were around eight and a half minutes short of the course record set by Daniel Jung from Naturns (17:34.37). But even without a new record, the two extreme athletes were extremely satisfied. "I'm so happy. The racing here is extremely technical. We started at a very high pace and really put up a great fight along the way. Five kilometers from the finish, Josef (Thaler, editor's note) and I decided to arrive together. We could have continued to duel, but another athlete might have profited from that,” said Gerald Fister at the finish, who was the first non-South Tyrolean to win the renowned South Tyrol Ultra Skyrace.

Impressions of a participant at night. © wishhaler.com | schwienbacher pa

Josef Thaler, on the other hand, is following in the footsteps of record winner Alexander Rabensteiner from Klausen (4 wins) and Daniel Jung (2). “I didn't expect to win at all, even though I prepared very meticulously for this competition. I am at home in the mountains and therefore I know how to move well off-road. In a flat marathon I probably wouldn't have a chance of finishing because that's just not my thing. Running in front of your own family and friends is always very special and also makes it difficult. This victory is certainly the most important in my career so far,” Thaler, who lives in St. Walburg in Ulten, dictated into his notepads. Bosatelli strong third For a long time it looked as if Oliviero Bosatelli could triumph at this year's South Tyrol Ultra Skyrace. On the section between the Kesselberghütte and Jenesien, however, his two worst opponents confronted him and so the Bergamaske took third place in the end. A result that made the firefighter very happy: “It's a real shame that you walk the first section of the route at night and don't notice anything of this wonderful panorama. Of course it bothers me that I missed catching up with the two winners. But third place is a great result in this technical race. Kudos to the organizers. The route is perfectly marked – it’s almost impossible to get lost.”

As the best German extreme athlete, Matthias Dippacher (Oy-Mittelberg) came in fifth place - at the same time as the South Tyrolean Josef Blasbichler. Another top favorite, South Tyrolean Peter Kienzl, had to give up due to stomach problems. Wermescher is the first non-South Tyrolean to win In the women's race, victory went to the Hungarian Ildiko Wermescher, who lives in Landsberg am Lech, who won in 22:02.52 hours. The 54-year-old is the first non-South Tyrolean to win the South Tyrol Ultra Skyrace. “It was hard work today, even though the conditions were really good. The route is unique anyway,” said Wermescher, who took second place last year and has improved by over 27 minutes compared to the previous year. Behind Wermescher, the Sarn local hero Regina Spieß and the Swiss Julia Fatton took the honorary positions, separated by only a few seconds. South Tyrol Skyrace: Depaoli strikes for the men – Kessler narrowly misses the course record Mattia Depaoli from Trentino could not be beaten over the 69-kilometer distance with an altitude of 3930 meters. In his third participation, the athlete from Altopiano di Vigolana, who was third two years ago, won in 7:32.53 minutes. Christian Stuffer from Val Gardena (7:43.22) and Oliver Helmboldt from Germany (7:50.31) completed the podium.

The women's race was an exciting thriller. It became apparent in Sarnthein that Julia Kessler would win the day when, after 42 kilometers, she tackled the remaining 27 kilometers without stopping at the aid station. In the end, she won in 8:38.51 minutes - but missed the course record set by German Daniela Ömus in 2017 by just over 6 minutes. Irene Senfter (Lana) and the Swiss Kerstin Dusch took second and third place. South Tyrol Sky Marathon: Perkmann and Thaler set new course records On the marathon distance with an altitude of 2863 meters, everything was set for an epic three-way battle between double winner Daniel Rohringer from Austria, course record holder Andreas Reiterer from Hafling and Hannes Perkmann from Sarnen. But while Rohringer and Reiterer had to give up due to injuries, Perkmann rattled towards his home village as if on tracks. He was plagued by severe cramps below the Sarner Scharte. However, the 26-year-old recovered relatively quickly and was the first participant in the South Tyrolean Sky Marathon to stay under the 3-hour mark in 58.05:4 hours. His climb from the Bolzano basin to the Rittner Horn was sensational, which he completed in 2:00.02 hours. Second place went to the former Norwegian biathlete Kristian Aalerud (4:32.14), while Georg Widmann from Tramin took third place (4:33.25).

It was also a course record for the women: Edeltraud Thaler literally pulverized the old record in 5:08.38. For the grand dame of South Tyrol mountain running, it was the second victory in a row at the South Tyrol Sky Marathon. Anna Clipet from Karlsruhe and the 2017 Ultra Skyrace winner Maria Kemenater will flank Thaler on the podium at the award ceremony on Sunday. South Tyrol Sky Trail: Brugger wins the heart-stopping final – Gräber beats the record When two people argue, the third person is usually happy. It was no different with the South Tyrol Sky Trail. On the climb to the Stoanernen Mandlen, Thomas Holzmann (Jenesien) and Armin Gögele (Tisens) dictated the pace. Then Hans Rudi Brugger, the former captain of FC Südtirol, began to catch up. In Jenesien he confronted Gögele, and a few hundred meters from the finish he passed Holzmann, who then increased the pace again and even forced Brugger to sprint to the finish. In the end, the 38-year-old crossed the finish line, three seconds behind Holzmann in 2:16.53 hours, while Gögele came third.

Anna Gräber set the third course record of the weekend. The athlete from Percha covered the 27 kilometers and 1067 meters in altitude from Sarnthein to Bolzano in 2:36.56 hours. Elena Tomè from Trentino came second, more than 20 minutes behind, while Sophie Beringer from Zeillern, Austria, took third place.

Over 850 registered athletes had already set a new participant record in the run-up to the 7th edition of the South Tyrol Ultra Skyrace. The extreme mountain run along the Horseshoe Tour in the Sarntal Alps is organized by the amateur sports club of the same name. The organizing committee is supported by the partners Athletes, Dynafit and Raiffeisen.

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Premiere: 2 winners at the South Tyrol Ultra Skyrace

For the first time, two athletes won the South Tyrol Ultra Skyrace at the same time. The race was overshadowed by a tragic accident.

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