By Nancy Hobbs / American Trail Running Association
Team USATF earned two medals at the 18th edition of the International U18 Mountain Running Cup in Donovaly, Slovakia on Saturday, June 14. It was gold for Dylan Blair, who led the boys’ squad to bronze. Team USA girls finished just three points out of bronze-medal position. The top three finishers scored for the team and medals were presented to the top three teams and top three individuals in both the girls’ and boys’ divisions. Meet Team USATF’s squad of eight athletes here.
Course
The 5.8-km mostly uphill course was at Park Snow Donovaly which is located in central Slovakia and is one of the country’s most famous ski resorts. After the start, the course immediately ascended up the ski slope on a steep grade with little relief to the finish. The route was mainly through forest terrain and meadows along marked hiking trails with a total elevation gain of 513 meters.
U18 boys’ race
A field of 64 runners representing 18 nations were on the start line for the boys’ race. Liked the girls’ race, the pace went out fast with a lead pack, but it was USA’s Dylan Blair who quickly gapped the field and charged to victory besting second place by more than a minute. Blair’s time was an impressive 27:25 translated to under 5 minutes per kilometer pace on the challenging terrain. Italy’s Francesco Gianola took silver in 28:40, and Yeray Hernandez Rojas representing Spain completed the podium in bronze position timed in 28:59.
In a post-race interview with WMRA communications manager Hector Rubio, Blair was asked what three words he would use to describe the course and the 18-year-old from Eagle, CO, said with a smile, “Very, very, painful.”
For Team USA, Dylan’s twin brother Tyler finished in the top 10, placing seventh in 29:50, followed in 30th position by Bearren Kee in 31:54 and Vlad Kosolapov 55th timed at 38:03.
Italy took gold in the team competition followed by Spain in silver, and USA in bronze.
U18 girls’ race
The pace was quick from the start in the girls’ race and by the finish, just 35 seconds separated the top three places. France’s Manon Duprat took gold in a time of 34:35, Hungary’s Dorottya Jazmin Juhasz finished in silver medal position timed in 34:58, and Northern Ireland’s Anna McGookin rounded out the top three for bronze in 35:09. There were 56 finishers in the girls’ race.
Team USA’s Ieva Macinnes just missed a top-ten spot finishing in 11th position with a time of 37:14. She was followed closely by teammate Sky St Louis who finished 14th in a time of 37:35. Brenna Jorde finished 20th timed in 38:35, and Izze Baggish powered through after twisting an ankle early on in the race to finish in 42:19 for 40th position.
There were 17 nations in the girls’ race. France earned gold in the team competition followed by Poland with silver and Switzerland for bronze. Just three points separated the Swiss from Team USA who finished fourth.
Complete results from the race here.
Thank you to LOC from Team USA
Paul Kirsch, team USA staff along with Melody Fairchild, said, “I am so proud of this team. Every team member pushed themselves and never gave up. They each faced different challenges on one of the toughest U18 courses I have ever seen, but they all rose to the occasion. It was also just a great group of kids. They were competitors but they were also ambassadors for their country – being kind, professional and gracious. The LOC did an amazing job as well. I can’t say enough about the event, the lodging and food and the hospitality.”
Enjoy more from the race with a recap posted by the World Mountain Running Association here.