Philemon Kiriago celebrates after winning Broken Arrow Skyrace in the US/HANDOUT
Philemon Kiriago is confident he can retain his World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) Mountain Running World Cup overall title after winning the seventh leg of the series at the Broken Arrow Skyrace in Palisades Tahoe, California.
Kiriago dominated Sunday evening's 23km up-and-down race, taking victory in a course-record time of 1:42:59. Sticking to his signature style of running from the front, the Run2Gether athlete stayed ahead of Morocco’s defending champion Elhousine Elazzaoui, who chased throughout to finish second in 1:43:12. Kenya’s Patrick Kipng’eno secured third place in 1:44:34.
The demanding course tested the athletes with steep climbs, exposed alpine terrain, technical descents, high altitude, and temperatures nearing 30°C. For his victory, Kiriago earned approximately Sh3.7 million.
The win followed a strong performance on Friday in the sixth leg of the series—a 5km ascent race. In that event, two-time World Mountain and Trail Running champion Kipng’eno took the victory in 37:59, Cameron Smith finished second in 38:10, and Kiriago placed third in 38:22.
"It was a good outing for me," said Kiriago, who is the reigning World Mountain and Trail Running up-and-down champion. "After finishing third on Friday, I set my mind on another podium finish on Sunday. I’m happy I won in a course record. It was a highly demanding weekend. My target is to defend my title this season once again."
In the women’s category, current series leader Joyce Muthoni Njeru secured podium finishes in both US races. In Friday's 5km race, the former World Mountain and Trail Running champion placed second in 43:23 behind winner Ann Gibson (43:15), while Tabor Hemming took third (44:55) and Kenya's Valentine Rutto finished 10th (48:12). In Sunday's 23km race, Njeru finished third in 2:03:59. Madalina Florea won the event in 2:02:18, followed closely by Lauren Gregory in second (2:03:56), while Rutto improved to finish ninth (2:11:32).
The athletes will now turn their attention to the Grossglockner Mountain Run in Austria.
Peter Angwenyi, the chairman of the Athletics Kenya Mountain Running Committee, praised the athletes' performances across both the World Cup and the Golden Trail Series.
"I’m impressed by the performance of the athletes in the two series," Angwenyi said. "The good performance in 2026 is an indication that they are in serious preparations for the 2027 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships."
Angwenyi noted that Kenyan mountain runners are determined to assert their dominance at next year’s global championships in Cape Town, South Africa. He added, "Mountain running continues to gain popularity in Kenya, and I want to encourage corporates to sponsor races locally."
