Skygames 2012 First events: Vertical Kilometer & Skyspeed. Top3: Spain 678p, Italy 318p, France 212p

Posted by mayayo oxigeno on July 1, 2012 in Carreras de montaña, carreras por montaña, fotos skygames 2012, skygames 2012, skygames skyspeed, skygames vertical kilometer, skyrunning, skyrunning 2012, trail running, trail running spain, trail running spain 2012 | 3 Comments

The Skygames 2012 have celebrated its first two out of six events in the program, with the Vertical Kilometer and Skyspeed races. Vertical Kilometer winners were Agustí Roc (E) and Oihana Kortazar (E). Skyspeed titles went to Didier Zago (F) and Debora Carbone (I) Spain dominates the rankings with 678 points; Italy second at 318 pts and France with 232 pts. Aragón´s Ribagorza Románica, eastern half of host region, boasts monuments such as this.

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The SkyGames opening events kicked off Saturday with the Vertical Kilometer World Champion titles and, as predicted, Spain took the day. Three-times skyrunning world champion Agustí Roc, 40, came out of semi-retirement and, triumphant, like Rocky Balboa, climbed back on the top of the podium with a gold for the 1,000 metre Vertical Kilometer. Spain’s Raúl García Castán was second and Italy’s Nicola Golinelli, third.

The all-Spanish women’s podium was headed by favourite, Oihana Kortazar with Laura Orgué second and Mireia Miró, third, a happy come-back after a period of injury.

The day’s racing wasn’t over however. The afternoon saw an even steeper race with the SkySpeed testing runners to their vertical limits: a mere 200 metres distance, but a punishing 100 metres skywards. The steep incline didn’t deter the many spectators lining the course and enthusiastically cheering on the runners.

Here, France and Italy were victorious with Didier Zago and Debora Cardone pocketing the gold. Silver and bronze went to Spain in both men’s and women’s categories, respectively, Jesús de la Morena, Luis Alberto Hernando and Oihana Kortazar and Silvia Leal.

Vertical Kilometer results

Men: 1. Agustí Roc (ESP): 35:51. 2. Raúl García (ESP): 36:10. 3. Nicola Golinelli (ITA): 36:16

Women: 1. Oihana Kortazar (ESP): 43:59. 2. Laura Orgué (ESP): 44:29- 3. Mireia Miró (ESP): 44:49

Skygames 2012 fotos: Oihana Kortazar

SkySpeed results:

Men: 1. Didier Zago (FRA). 2. Jesús de la Morena (ESP). 3. Luis Alberto Hernando (ESP)

Women: 1. Debora Cardone (ITA). 2. Oihana Kortazar (ESP). 3. Silvia Leal (ESP)

The day’s final medal count for the two events reads: Spain: 2 gold / 4 silver / 3 bronze // Italy: 1 gold / 0 silver / 1 bronze // France: 1 gold / 0 silver / 0 bronze

SkyGames national ranking: Spain: 678 points / Italy: 318 points / France: 232 points (* based on the results of three men and one woman)

Apart from host country Spain, the nations participating are Andorra, Bolivia Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, USA and Venezuela.

The six SkyGames disciplines making up the event are: Vertical Kilometer – the universally popular formula, here a mere 3.5 km with a 30% incline; SkySpeed – 100 metres vertical climb with a 45% incline; SkyBike – a duathlon combining mtb and skyrunning to 2,000m altitude; SkyRaid – a multi-discipline team relay; the 21 km SkyRace with 1,350m vertical climb, with a special title and medals for runners aged 16-21. The events conclude with an epic SkyMarathon reaching 3,100m altitude – valid for the combined points world title.

SKYGAMES 2012: PHOTO GALLERY BY PEDRO J. GRACIA & MAYAYO