The super-strong Italian team took the combined European Skyrunning Championships title at the Puig Campana Vertical Kilometer® today, but Spain was the big medal winner, taking nine of the eighteen medals at stake overall. 

New course records were set by  Italy’s Urban Zemmer, world record holder of this distance, closing in 35’43” and Spain’s new skyrunning promise, Laura Orgue, in 44’01”.

The Italian men’s team had the podium to themselves with Urban Zemmer first, Marco De Gasperi second and Nicola Golinelli third, while the women’s line-up had Spain’s Laura Orgue first, Oihana Kortazar second and France’s Corinne Favre, third.

456 runners battled up the steep rocky course to the summit of the Puig Campana which stands at 1,400m overlooking the Costa Blanca.   The Vertical Kilometer® represented the final of the biannual European Championships, with the first round taking place in Switzerland on June 12 with the SkyRace® title going to Spain’s Oihana Kortazar and Luis Hernando.  Both Hernando and De Gasperi were feeling the effects of a long season and their recent accomplishments, (2nd and 3rd) in the Malaysian Skyrunner® SuperCup together with Hernando’s Skyrunner® World Series Champion title.

With the weather in Europe at last turning cold, the intense 2011 skyrunning season draws to a close but already anticipation mounts for the unveiling of the Skyrunner® World Series with an exciting new format and the presentation of the 2012 SkyGames®.

2011 European Skyrunning Championships

Combined Team Points:
Italy
Spain
France
Andorra
Russia
Switzerland
Germany
Great Britain
Slovenia

See here for combined team points

Provisional race results

Medals:
Spain (4 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)
Italy (1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
Czech Republic  (1 gold)
France (1 silver, 1 bronze)