Today, the 10th edition of the Youth Skyrunning World Championships kicked off in Croatia with a lung-busting VERTICAL – a perfect VK with 980m vertical climb over 4.5 km reaching 1,264m altitude. Aged 15 to 23, these young skyrunners, including those new to the sport, showed their guts in the fight for the medals and their talent for this unique discipline.

Spain, Norway and Japan came out on top in the country ranking while Portugal took their first gold medal in the Youth Championships since they began in 2016. Close-on 200 athletes from countries as far afield as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan and USA participated today, making for tough competition and, as usual, great camaraderie.

Fastest time on the course today was Swiss athlete Fiorillo Camesi in 37’37” – but his gold medal didn’t come easily after battling with Spaniard Lluis Puigvert over the last 100 metres to the summit. Puigvert closed just three seconds later for the silver, his tenth medal at the Youth Championships after five editions.

It’s ten years since the first Skyrunning World Championships were introduced and it’s time to celebrate with a record 32 countries from across the world participating at host event, Croatia, on May 8-10, 2026.

A total of 208 young and aspiring skyrunners will line up at the Absolute Biokovo Challenge events in the coastal town of Makarska, featuring two skyrunning disciplines – VERTICAL and SKY – on specifically designed courses.

The eighth Youth Skyrunning World Championships closed today with Spain, Japan and the UK topping the country ranking in the final of the weekend’s events in Bar, Montenegro on June 30, 2024, where the SKY discipline was disputed after Friday’s VERTICAL.

More than 200 athletes from five continents and 28 countries competed for the 75 medals at stake as well as individual, combined and team titles. Eleven countries took medals, of which Spain, Japan, United Kingdom, Norway, and Germany lead the count.

It was a day of “Less cloud. More Sky” for the final of the 2023 Youth Skyrunning World Championships where athletes from 31 countries battled for the 75 medals at stake in Italy’s Appenine mountains in Gran Sasso, L’Aquila.

With 31 countries from five continents participating in the first race of the 2023 Youth Skyrunning World Championships, the competition, camaraderie, colours and burning lungs highlighted the event – for many their first attempt at a Vertical Kilometer® – and a medal.