UTMB mountain running: Jigme Tenzin competes as Kilian Jornet withdraws

The upcoming Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) World Series Finals features significant developments for prominent mountain runners. Bhutanese runner Jigme Tenzin, a Drukair flight dispatcher known as the “Mountain Man,” is set to compete in the 101-kilometre race for the second time. Tenzin, who previously made history as one of the first Bhutanese athletes to compete at the UTMB finals, qualified following a sub-13-hour 100-kilometre finish in Thailand. The race course will traverse Italy, Switzerland, and France.

In contrast, four-time UTMB winner Kilian Jornet has announced he will not participate in this year's race. The 38-year-old Spaniard confirmed that he and his medical team have decided on surgery to address a persistent knee injury. Jornet has been managing a meniscus rupture and cartilage damage for several years, but a recent training effort necessitated a more permanent surgical solution, leaving his return to racing timeline unspecified.