WMRA World Cup

The WMRA World Cup is an annual series of mountain running competitions organised by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) that runs from around May to October.[1] Athletes are awarded points for each performance on the tour. Its predecessor was the Alpine Grand Prix, a 1997 formation including four European races in the Alps region.[2] It formally became the WMRA Grand Prix in 1999 and subsequently expanded to six races in 2001. It reverted to four races in 2007 and from 2008 onwards began to vary between five and seven races. The competition took its current title World Cup in 2014.[3][4]

WMRA World Cup
Tournament information
SportMountain running
LocationVaries
DatesMay or June–Early October
Established1999
FormatRace series
Current champion
Men: Henri Aymonod
Women: Joyce Njeru

History

The series originally was held mid-year around July to August, fitting mostly between the European Mountain Running Championships (held in early July) and the World Mountain Running Championships (held in mid-September). [5] From 2001 onwards, the expansion of the series meant the inclusion of the World Championships as a leg of the series (if held in Europe) and the Grand Prix Final event coming after the championships as a season-closer for mountain running.[6][7] The races in the middle period of the series are usually held relatively close together to allow top level athletes from across the world to compete in many races without excessive travel.[5] From 2006 onwards the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) began sanctioning the meetings on the annual circuit.[8]

The points scoring format is cumulative. Finishing positions in a WMRA Grand Prix race range from 100 points for first to 1 point for 30th. Additional points may be awarded for performances achieved at the World Championships, if that event is included in the tour that year, and the Grand Prix Final race. An athlete's four best performances across the series are totalled and the athlete with the highest overall score wins the series. The series has a men's division and a women's division, with both a men's and women's series winner being declared. Athletes must compete in at least two races in order to be considered in the final rankings.[9][8]

Jonathan Wyatt of New Zealand is the most successful athlete of the series history, accumulating eight wins from 1999 to 2009. He is also the only male athlete to achieve a perfect score (winning all his races), having done so five times consecutively from 2002 to 2006. Angela Mudge of Great Britain and Poland's Izabela Zatorska are the joint most successful female runners across the series, each with three victories to their name. Zatorska became the first person to achieve a perfect score in the series in 2001. Anna Pichrtová (2006) and Andrea Mayr (2014) are the only other women to match that feat. Eritrean Azeria Teklay became the first winner from Africa in 2012, marking increased participation from outside the Western world.[10]

The World Cup was cancelled in 2020.[11] From 2022 World Cup Gold Label and Silver Label events are held.

Editions
  •   nb1 Held as the Alpine Grand Prix
  •   PS Perfect score achieved
Ed. Year Dates Races Men's winner Points Women's winner Points
— 1997[nb1] – 4  Helmut Schmuck (AUT) 260  Janina Saxer-Juszko (SUI) 300
— 1998[nb1] – 4  Antonio Molinari (ITA) ?  Janina Saxer-Juszko (SUI) ?
1st 1999 11 July–3 October 4  Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) 280  Angela Mudge (GBR) 320
2nd 2000 11 June–20 August 4  Antonio Molinari (ITA) 340  Angela Mudge (GBR) 285
3rd 2001 17 June–6 October 6  Marco De Gasperi (ITA) 290  Izabela Zatorska (POL) 300[PS]
4th 2002 26 May–6 October 6  Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) 300[PS]  Angela Mudge (GBR) 290
5th 2003 11 June–5 October 6  Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) 400[PS]  Antonella Confortola (ITA) 380
6th 2004 16 May–9 October 6  Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) 400[PS]  Izabela Zatorska (POL) 340
7th 2005 8 May–8 October 6  Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) 300[PS]  Izabela Zatorska (POL) 325
8th 2006 23 July–28 October 6  Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) 430[PS]  Anna Pichrtová (CZE) 430[PS]
8th 2007 10 June–6 October 4  Marco Gaiardo (ITA) 300  Anna Pichrtová (CZE) 308
9th 2008 1 May–4 October 7  Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) 394  Anna Frost (NZL) 315
10th 2009 21 May–3 October 7  Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) 352  Iva Milesova (CZE) 327
11th 2010 13 May–2 October 5  Ahmet Arslan (TUR) 386  Andrea Mayr (AUT) 340
12th 2011 22 May–1 October 6  Ahmet Arslan (TUR) 407  Lucija Krkoč (SLO) 405
13th 2012 17 May–6 October 5  Azeria Teklay (ERI) 404  Valentina Belotti (ITA) 357
14th 2013 2 June–5 October 6  Azeria Teklay (ERI) 377  Mateja Kosovelj (SLO) 375
15th 2014 8 June–4 October 6  Petro Mamu (ERI) 386  Andrea Mayr (AUT) 440[PS]
16th 2015[12] 7 June–3 October 6  Andrew Douglas (GBR) 275  Sarah Tunstall (GBR) 375
17th 2016 12 June–1 October 6  Petro Mamu (ERI) 450  Andrea Mayr (AUT) 425
18th 2017 28 May–7 October 7  Alex Baldaccini (ITA) 440  Alice Gaggi (ITA) 470
19th 2018[13] 15 July–6 October 5  Geoffrey Gikuni Ndungu (KEN) 410  Andrea Mayr (AUT) 435
20th 2019[14] 24 May–12 October 7  Andrew Douglas (GBR) 525  Sarah McCormack (IRL) 495

Races

Numerous races have featured over the history of the competition, most of them being held in the Alps. Exceptions to this include the Gibraltar Rock Race in Gibraltar, the Snowdon Race in Wales, Skaala Uphill in Norway, and Alyeska Mountain Run in Alaska – the latter (included once in 2002) is the only occasion that a Grand Prix race has been held outside of Europe. The Šmarna Gora Mountain Race in Slovenia has served the honour of being the Grand Prix Final race on several occasions.[10]

Race Location Country Inclusion
World Mountain Running Championships Varies Varies When held in Europe (post-2001)
La Montée du Grand Ballon Willer-sur-Thur France Frequent
Gorski tek na Grintovec[nb2] Kamnik Slovenia Frequent
Mayrhofen Harakiri Run Mayrhofen Austria Frequent
Šmarna Gora Mountain Race Ljubljana Slovenia Frequent
Feuerkogel Berglauf Ebensee Austria Occasional
Skaala Uphill Loen Norway Occasional
Asitzgipfel Mountain Race Leogang Austria Occasional
Castle Mountain Running Arco Italy Occasional
Challenge Stellina Susa Italy Occasional
Schlickeralm Berglauf Telfes Austria Occasional
Grossglockner Berglauf Heiligenblut Austria Infrequent
Gibraltar Rock Race Rock of Gibraltar Gibraltar Infrequent
Berglauf Terlan Mölten Italy Infrequent
Montagne Olimpiche Sauze d'Oulx Italy Infrequent
Brandenkopf-Berglauf Zell am Harmersbach Germany Infrequent
Borno Berglauf Borno Italy Infrequent
Matterhornlauf Zermatt Switzerland Infrequent
Hochfellnberglauf Bergen Germany Infrequent
Gamperney-Berglauf Grabs Switzerland Infrequent
Berglauf Seegrube Innsbruck Austria Infrequent
Snowdon Race Llanberis United Kingdom Infrequent
Kitzbüheler Hornlauf Kitzbühel Austria Infrequent
Tek na smučeh Krvavec Cerklje Switzerland Infrequent
Danis-Berglauf/Rothorn-Run Lenzerheide Switzerland Infrequent
Tek na Ratitovec Železniki Slovenia 2015
Muttersberglauf Bludenz Austria 2014
Course des 2 Bains Ovronnaz Switzerland 2008
Berglauf Meran Merano Italy 2008
Raiffeisen Schneeberglauf Puchberg am Schneeberg Austria 2008
Crans-Montana Mountain Race Chermignon Switzerland 2007
Alyeska Mountain Run Girdwood United States 2002
  • nb2 Translates as Grintovec Mountain Race

References
  1. Minshull, Phil (2014-10-04). Mayr and Mamo clinch 2014 WMRA World Cup with victories in Smarna Gora. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-24.
  2. WMRA Mountain Running Grand Prix. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-03-24.
  3. Teklay and Belotti looking to retain Grand Ballon titles in second leg of WMRA World Cup. IAAF (2014-06-13). Retrieved on 2015-03-24.
  4. Mamo leads Eritrean sweep at WMRA Grand Prix in Saalfelden. IAAF (2013-09-16). Retrieved on 2015-03-24.
  5. WMRA Grand Prix Tour gets underway. IAAF (2009-07-23). Retrieved on 2015-03-24.
  6. WMRA Calendar 2014. WMRA. Retrieved on 2015-03-24.
  7. WMRA Grand Prix 2001 3rd edition Final Results. Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine. WMRA. Retrieved on 2015-03-24.
  8. WMRA Grand Prix 2006. Archived 2015-01-22 at the Wayback Machine. WMRA. Retrieved on 2015-03-24.
  9. WMRA Grand Prix 2013 Final Results. Archived 2015-01-22 at the Wayback Machine. WMRA. Retrieved on 2015-03-24.
  10. WMRA Grand Prix until 2013 /World Cup from 2014. WMRA. Retrieved on 2015-03-24.
  11. "2020 - major events". wmra.ch.
  12. Calendar 2015 - Major Events. WMRA. Retrieved on 2015-03-24.
  13. MOUNTAIN RUNNING WORLD CUP 2018. Archived 2019-10-19 at the Wayback Machine. WMRA. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  14. Mamu and Murigi triumph at Smarna Gora, Douglas and McCormack secure WMRA World Cup victories. IAAF (2019-10-12). Retrieved 2019-10-19.
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