GTWS overall leader Philemon Kiriago celebrates during a past race/HANDOUTTwo-time World Mountain and Trail Running champion Patrick Kipng’eno has moved to second place in the Golden Trail World Series overall rankings after back-to-back wins.
Kipng’eno leapfrogged champion Elhousine Elazzaoui after garnering 218 points following wins at the Jinshanling Great Wall Trail Race on Sunday.
He now has 830 points, 40 behind series leader Philemon Kiriago.
Kiriago, with 870 points, has not finished outside the top two in the seven-part series, which conclude with the Muju Trail Grand Finale in South Korea on October 24 and 25.
In the last two races, the Jinshanling Great Wall Trail Race and the Myoko Trail, he finished second to Kipng’eno. Additionally, he won at Sierra Zinal and was second at the Quebec Mega Trail and the Ledro Sky Trentino.
Kipng’eno has won the Myoko Golden Trail and Jinshanling Great Wall Trail Race. Earlier in the season, he was fifth in the Ledro Sky Trentino, second in Zierre Zinal and third at the Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail.
Kiriago and Kipng’eno are affiliated with Run2gether On Trail.
Elazzaoui is third with 824 points after victories at Zegama Aizkorri, Ledro Sky Trentino and Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail and a fourth-place finish at the Quebec Mega Trail in Canada.
Other Kenyans in the top 10 are Michael Saoli (fourth - 764 points), Timothy Kibet (fifth - 650), Nashon Kiplimo (sixth - 651), and Ezekiel Tutto (seventh - 598).
Kiriago will target a top-two finish in the Grand Finale to lift his maiden GTWS title.
“The Grand Finale brings together the best mountain runners in the world. It will be tough but I am hoping for the best,” said Kiriago.
Madalina Florea leads the women's leaderboard with 872 points, followed by Caroline Kimutai (806 points) and Ruth Gitonga (766 points).
Gitonga clinched her maiden GTWS at the Jinshanling Great Wall Trail Race on Sunday.
The GTWS heads to South Korea for the first time for the Muju Trail, a 25.6 km course featuring 2, 294 metres of elevation gain. The course has been termed as the toughest in the history of the series.
There will be 300 points on offer plus additional points across different segments.
The Grand Final course features a relentless succession of ridgelines, steep gradients, trails winding through coniferous forests and rocky terrain, while also passing ancient Buddhist temples and some of the region’s most distinctive landscapes.
The setting will showcase a different side of South Korea and lies at the heart of the country’s bid for the 2036 Summer Olympic Games.
The women’s race is set for October 24 with the men's a day later.
The Grand Final will bring together the top 30 men and women in the overall standings, alongside winners of the Golden Trail National Series (GTNS) in China and the Golden Trail National Championships in Australia, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic and Mexico.
