Oriol Cardona is the ski mountaineering world champion in the sprint modality, which will debut in the Olympic program at the 2026 Games.
He was the best in his quarterfinal heat. In the semifinals he was second in his series behind Iñigo Martínez de Albornoz. In the final he had no rival.
Martínez de Albornoz came out on top, but Cardona immediately took command after overcoming the areas of the ‘zetas’. On the climb, the Catalan arrived first. Martínez de Albornoz took a long time to change in the transition and came out fifth. Cardona led the descent and headed straight for gold (2:35.218). Frenchman Thibault Anselmet was silver (2:41.881) and his compatriot Robin Galindo, bronze (2:46.811). Martínez de Albornoz was sixth (3:05.199).
At 28 years old, the Catalan skier, who combines ski mountaineering in winter with trail running in summer, is already the current European and World champion. This season he already has a first place and a second place in the World Cup, in addition to the recent victory with Ana Alonso in the mixed team relay event in Val Martello (Italy).
In female category, the Slovakian Mariana Jagercikova won gold (3:11.034) ahead of the Swiss Marianne Fanton (3:14.005) and the French Emily Harrop (3:16.248). The Spanish Marta García and María Costa they fell in the semifinals.
Oriol Cardona was proclaimed European champion in this modality at the Boi Taull station, which hosted the continental tournament just one year ago. On that occasion he was accompanied on the podium by the Italian Nicolò Ernesto Canclini, silver, and Iñigo Martinez de Albornoz, who took bronze.
Los Ski Mountaineering World Championships are held at the Catalan resort of Boi Taull from February 27 to March 5. There are five tests in five different modalities: sprint, relay, vertical, individual and teams. Nearly 400 athletes from 27 countries around the world, including athletes and technicians, are registered in the event organized by the International Ski Mountaineering Federation.
Thus the new Olympic modality of the ski mountaineering sprint
The sprint modality has been developed in five quarterfinal sleeves from which the members of the two semifinal rounds have come out where the best three of each one went to the final. The test was held on a circuit of about 70 meters of positive slope. The track started out smooth and immediately entered a constant slope where the “zetas” area is located. When you reach the first change, you must put your skis on your back and start the section on foot. From there, the terrain presented a considerable slope that was saved through steps cut into hard snow.
The second change and the last part of the ascent was carried out through a section with a demanding slope that did not loosen up until the last meters of the ascent. The descent was traced through an initial terrain of snow without treading.