Former top biathlete wins Drei Zinnen Alpine Run

Petro Mamu from Eritrea won the South Tyrol Drei Zinnen Alpine Run for the fourth time, while the former Finnish top biathlete Kaisa Mäkäräinen triumphed in her debut on the 15,2 kilometer long route with 1333 meters of altitude. Around 800 mountain runners from 20 different nations registered for the event in Sexten.

The first of a total of eight 9 blocks started at Haus Sexten at 100 a.m. sharp, where the top favorites of the 24th edition of the South Tyrol Drei Zinnen Alpine Run were located. Among the men, Petro Mamu, the Austrian Manuel Innerhofer and Martin Anthamatten (Switzerland) were among the hottest contenders for victory; among the women, all eyes were on Kaisa Mäkäräinen, local hero Agnes Tschurtschenthaler (Sexten), the Swiss Victoria Kreuzer, Barbara Bani (Italy) and Susanne Mair (Austria).

Starting signal in Sexten © Harald Wisthaler

In the first few kilometers from Sexten to Moos in the direction of Fischleintal, Mamu and Innerhofer pulled away. The African and the Austrian then fought a thrilling duel. Be it at the Zsigmondyhütte checkpoint after around ten kilometers, or a little later at the Büllelejochhütte, the leading duo were still close together.

The decision was only made on the last flat section shortly before the finish. It was there that Mamu, the former world champion and course record holder of the Drei Zinnen Run, made the decisive attack and crossed the finish line at the Drei Zinnen Hut as the winner after 1:20.56 hours. It was the 38-year-old's fourth triumph in the mountain running classic in Sexten, which puts him only two successes behind record winner Jonathan Wyatt.

Very visible: Petro Mamu © Harald Wisthaler

Innerhofer improves by over three minutes Last year's winner Manuel Innerhofer took second place, 13 seconds behind. The Pinzgauer was over three minutes faster than last year, but despite his strong performance he was no match for the extremely strong Mamu. “To be honest, I was surprised that I was able to keep up with Petro for so long. That's why I'm more than satisfied with my performance. When he managed to pull away on the flats, I simply didn't have the strength to catch up with him. “I’ll be back next year and then I’ll try to be at the top again,” promised the 26-year-old from Neukirchen am Großvenediger.

Martin Anthamatten from Zermatt, who had already been pleased with third place in 2020, completed the podium. As the best “Azzurro”, Luca Sclisizzo from Paluzza in the province of Udine took seventh place (1:32.14), while Armin Gögele (Tesimo) as the best South Tyrolean participant also achieved a top ten result with ninth place. “I'm here for the first time today and it's only by chance because I won a starting place. It's a beautiful race and the route is great to run," said Gögele at the finish at 2405 meters above sea level. Mäkäräinen “saves” a 22-second lead at the finish In the women's race, Kaisa Mäkäräinen celebrated a start-to-finish victory. The 38-year-old Finn had a 42-second lead over her worst opponent Agnes Tschurtschenthaler on the flat initial section up to the valley end hut. Mäkäräinen was able to stay in the lead even in the steep sections that followed. At the Zsigmondyhütte she was leading by 1.24 minutes over Kreuzer, who had started to catch up in the middle section and overtook Tschurtschenthaler.

In the final part, Tschurtschenthaler turned on the turbo, overtook Kreuzer and caught up with Kaisa Mäkäräinen by over a minute - but nothing changed about the success of the three-time overall World Cup biathlon winner. The Finn won in 1:41.11 hours and was 22 seconds faster than the Sesto local hero. “It was a wonderful experience.” Kaisa Mäkäräinen “It was my first mountain run and it was a wonderful experience. I was in Antholz the last few days, saw that this race was taking place and then decided to take part for fun. I've already been hiking in the Dolomites, but I've never walked from Sesto to the Three Peaks. Would I now pursue a career in mountain running? No, I think it will continue to be a hobby,” said Mäkäräinen when asked about her success at the South Tyrol Drei Zinnen Alpine Run. Respectful success for Petra Pircher Third place went to Italian trail champion Barbara Bani from Ome in the province of Brescia, who lost almost five and a half minutes to the day's winner. Petra Pircher made an exclamation point. The almost 50-year-old from Lasa broke the two-hour mark in 1:59.34 hours and ultimately took sixth place in the top-class field. 24th South Tyrol Drei Zinnen Alpine Run – results Men: 1. Petro Mamu ERI/Fly-Stubai.at 1:20.56 2. Manuel Innerhofer AUT 1:21.09 3. Martin Anthamatten SUI 1:26.54 4. Marcel Krieghoff GER/SC Impuls Erfurt 1:29.24 5. Galen Burrell USA/Flatties 1:30.15 6. David Aberer AUT/Skinfit Racing 1:30.50 7. Luca Sclisizzo ITA/Aldo Moro Paluzza 1:32.14 8. Filippo Barizza ITA/Atl. Dolomiti Belluno 1:33.32 9. Armin Gögele ITA/Tisens 1:34.37 10. Michael Nocker ITA/Percha 1:34.48

Women: 1. Kaisa Mäkäräinen FIN/Kontiolahti Sport Club 1:41.11 2. Agnes Tschurtschenthaler ITA/Sexten 1:41.33 3. Barbara Bani ITA/Ome 1:46.39 4. Susanne Mair AUT/Union Raika Compedal/Scott 1:47.24 5. Sabrina Prager GER/LG Passau 1:55.44 6. Petra Pircher ITA/ASC Laas Raiffeisen 1:59.34 7. Andreea Lucaci ITA/Atletica Livorno 2:00.27 8. Ioana Lucaci ITA/Atletica Livorno 2:00.58 9. Juliane Wiedeburg GER/Running Party Chiemgau 2:01.14 10. Gertraud Tasser ITA/Running Club Pustertal 2:05.02

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Hockey

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Former top biathlete wins Drei Zinnen Alpine Run

The renowned mountain run in the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site ended on Saturday with a well-known and a new, but very prominent, winning face in wonderful late summer weather.

Suggestions

Comments (0)