Emily Harrop (France) and Arno Lietha (Switzerland) have both won the Sprint races this Friday, January 10, in Shahdag, the Azerbaijani city hosting its first ISMF World Cup. For Emily Harrop, this title reinforces her dominance following her first win Courchevel. As for Arno Lietha, who previously stood on the second step of the podium in France, he confirms his position among the leaders of the Sprint.
2nd Round of the SkiMo World Cup and a historic first for Azerbaijan
The competition brought together athletes from a wide range of countries, including nations that were competing for the first time of the season like Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Qatar.
Prominent figures from Azerbaijan also attended the event. Alongside Jordi Canals, Secretary General of the ISMF, notable attendees included Farid Gayibov, Minister of Youth and Sports, and Mariana Vasileva, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports; Fuad Naghiyev, President of the Azerbaijan Winter Sports Federation, and Florian Sengstschmid, its Vice President. Additionally, Azer Aliyev, General Secretary of the National Olympic Committee, and Rustam Najafov, President of Shahdag Mountain Resort, were present.
Warm conditions on a challenging Sprint track
The conditions were particularly warm, with a temperature over 10°C at the starting line situated at an altitude of 1435m. The course was 600m long, with 60m of D+ spread across a first ski section of 215m and 25m of D+, followed by the first transition and a foot ascent of 50m and 15m of D+, a second transition, and the final uphill section of 70m and 20m of D+.
Men’s and women’s final rankings
- Arno Lietha, CHE [02:27:7]
- Robin Bussard, CHE [02:28:5]
- Ot Ferrer Martinez, ESP [02:35:5]
- Thibault Anselmet, FRA [02:36:0]
- Thomas Bussard, CHE [02:39:0]
- Jon Kistler, CHE [02:55:3]
- Emily Harrop, FRA [02:58:2]
- Marianne Fatton, CHE [03:02:5]
- Célia Perillat-Pessey, FRA [03:08:3]
- Lena Bonnel, FRA [03:13:7]
- Marianna Jagercikova, SVK [03:17:0]
- Tatjana Paller, GER [04:17:6]
⏱️👉 Detailed results and rankings available here
Key takeaways from the Sprint Race
The top two spots remained unchanged in the women’s race, with Emily Harrop representing the French Federation and Marianne Fatton representing for Switzerland’s Federation. On men’s side, we assisted to a strong dominance of the Swiss team, with four athletes in the final, including the Bussard brothers.
About the ISMF:
Founded in 2007, the ISMF is the global governing body for competitive ski mountaineering. Since 2016, the organisation has been officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee. Its main goals are the promotion, regulation and development of the sport of ski mountaineering worldwide. Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the ISMF’s membership consists of 53 national federations located in Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. The ISMF organizes ski mountaineering Senior and Youth World Cups, as well as Masters and World Championships. For the first time, ski mountaineering was a medal sport at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland, and has been included in the programme of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games.
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