Today, the 10th edition of the Youth Skyrunning World Championships kicked off in Croatia with a lung-busting VERTICAL – a perfect VK with 980m vertical climb over 4.5 km reaching 1,264m altitude. Aged 15 to 23, these young skyrunners, including those new to the sport, showed their guts in the fight for the medals and their talent for this unique discipline.

Spain, Norway and Japan came out on top in the country ranking while Portugal took their first gold medal in the Youth Championships since they began in 2016. Close-on 200 athletes from countries as far afield as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan and USA participated today, making for tough competition and, as usual, great camaraderie.

Fastest time on the course today was Swiss athlete Fiorillo Camesi in 37’37” – but his gold medal didn’t come easily after battling with Spaniard Lluis Puigvert over the last 100 metres to the summit. Puigvert closed just three seconds later for the silver, his tenth medal at the Youth Championships after five editions.

It’s ten years since the first Skyrunning World Championships were introduced and it’s time to celebrate with a record 32 countries from across the world participating at host event, Croatia, on May 8-10, 2026.

A total of 208 young and aspiring skyrunners will line up at the Absolute Biokovo Challenge events in the coastal town of Makarska, featuring two skyrunning disciplines – VERTICAL and SKY – on specifically designed courses.

Celebrating ten years since the first World Championships in 2016, the Youth Skyrunning World Championships will be hosted – for the first time – in Croatia on 8-10 May, 2026. Croatia became an ISF member just two years ago and with teams participating in various World Championships, they secured their first medal in the recent Masters. Thanks to the rapid growth of the sport, the country is ready to host their first Skyrunning World Championships. The location is nothing less than spectacular in the Biokovo mountains high above the Adriatic Sea, where, on a clear day, the Italian Apennines can be seen – the very mountains where six editions of the Youth Championships have been held on Gran Sasso.