Kipngeno wins Myoko Trail, his third Golden Trail race in Japan; Gröber leads throughout
On the series' first visit to Myoko, 24 km with 2,000 m of climbing, Kipngeno ran down Timothy Kibett late; Hanna Gröber won by 2:48, her first GTWS win.
Photograph: Patrick Kipngeno on the final descent at Sierre-Zinal, August 2026, by Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Golden Trail World Series went to Myoko in Japan for the first time on Sunday: 24 km from the Suginohara ski resort at about 800 m, two big climbs and two big descents, close to 2,000 m of climbing, and more than 1,000 m of it in the first five kilometres.
Timothy Kibett took the race on from the first descent and led by a minute at 12 km. Patrick Kipngeno let him go. He won the uphill segment, a kilometre at 17.7 percent, in 10:24, and was still 46 seconds down at the second summit at 19.5 km. Then the front runner's day fell apart: he stopped to pick up a dropped bottle, and a few minutes later sat down by the trail and watched Kipngeno run past. Kipngeno won in 2:07:12, his third victory in three Golden Trail races in Japan. Philemon Kiriago came through for second, 1:25 back, and Michael Selelo was third, an all-Kenyan podium as at Sierre-Zinal. Kiriago now leads the series with 860 points to Elhousine Elazzaoui's 824.
Hanna Gröber, the European up-and-down champion, led the women's race from the start. She had 1:08 on Ruth Gitonga by 8 km, two minutes at halfway and won in 2:30:19, her first series win. Marie Nivet came through late for second, 2:48 behind, with Barbora Bukovjan third. Madalina Florea, absent, still leads the standings. The series moves to the Great Wall of China in a week.
The man who waited won by a minute and a half. The man who led sat down. Mountains settle things plainly.
Sources: Golden Trail World Series; Golden Trail World Series; iRunFar.
