- Giuliana Werro crossed the finish line in second place at the Engadin Ski Marathon, but still defended her title after Maëlle Veyre was disqualified.
- In the men’s category, the Norwegian Magne Haga won ahead of his two compatriots Thomas Bucher-Johannessen and Filip Fjeld Andersen.
- Dario Cologna missed the podium in 4th place by 2.7 seconds. With Fabrizio Albasini and Nicola Wigger, two more Swiss are in the top 6.
The 54th edition of the Engadin Ski Marathon was characterized by difficult conditions. The 21-year-old Frenchwoman Maëlle Veyre needed 1:58:27 hours in the snowstorm in the Engadine to be the first to arrive in S-chanf on her debut at the traditional event. Last year’s winner Giuliana Werro was the last competitor to lose touch around 6 kilometers from the finish.
The local hero from Zuoz crossed the finish line after 40 kilometers about a minute behind, but can now still be happy about defending her title. The reason: At Veyre, the fluorine value on the ski was found to be too high. The supposed winner was disqualified and Werro was subsequently declared the winner. This means that the women’s victory remains in Switzerland for the 5th time in a row.
Werro was surprised afterwards: “The fluorine ban has been in effect throughout the entire season, so I’m amazed that it’s gotten to this point for us.” Like Werro, Veyre has already competed in the World Cup this season, where there has been a ban on fluorine when waxing since this season. According to race director and SRF expert Adriano Iseppi, the Frenchwoman’s fluorine level was well above the maximum permitted value.
More than a minute behind Werro, the Italian Federica Sanfilippo secured second place. With Carla Wohler, a second Swiss woman also slipped onto the podium. Top favorite Flora Dolci (FRA) had to settle for 4th place, 2 seconds behind Wohler.
Cologna just off the podium
Among the men, a top group of six broke away early on. 3 Swiss and 3 Norwegians fought for victory. Around 3 kilometers from the finish, two Swiss Ski athletes, Nicola Wigger and Fabrizio Albasini, who was responsible for a large part of the leadership work, had to pull away.
Shortly afterwards, the Norwegian Magne Haga, brother of the two-time Olympic champion Ragnhild Haga, was able to take a decisive lead at the top. In 1:44:42 hours he celebrated what was probably the most prestigious success of his career ahead of his compatriots Thomas Bucher-Johannessen and Filip Fjeld Andersen. The 4-time Engadin winner Dario Cologna missed the podium by just 2.7 seconds one day before his 38th birthday and had to settle for fourth place.