The stakes have been raised heading into the final men’s showdown at the Golden Trail World Series in Switzerland on Sunday.
Elhousine Elazzaoui grabbed a controversial win last time out at the Mammoth 26k, when some accused him of blocking Patrick Kipngeno in the dramatic sprint finish.
Elazzaoui told us earlier in the week:” It may not have been clear in the live footage, but in the slow motion, you can see I kept my line and went for the shortest route. I think most people understood that. Everything is fine – it’s part of the sport. We were both sprinting, and things happen quickly. We talked it over, and everything is good now.”
But when Kenyan duo Kipngeno and Philemon Kiriago, who were second and third that day and occupy the same positions in the overall behind Elazzaoui, chatted to GTWS’ Mickaël Mussard it would appear the trio have agreed to disagree!
‘That incident at Mammoth’
When Kipngeno was asked if there was anything he could have done better, the reply was as follows: “I don’t think so… But of course, there’s that incident at Mammoth…
“For me, it wasn’t fair… I always try to be fair when I race, I point out stones and dangers on the trail to others. But him, not only did he block my way, he pushed me onto a wall while we were sprinting… If you see someone catching up to you, you leave space, you don’t try to block them because you’re not fast enough… Well, that’s how I see it.”
And Kiriago, who had tried to join forces with compatriot and teammate Kipngeno to get the better of Elazzaoui, added: “We all saw the finish… Patrick wasn’t far from winning the race. I don’t want to dwell on that, but instead look at what I did myself.
“The strategy was to make the race tougher on the faster sections, so we could break away with Patrick. But by kilometer 10, I realised I couldn’t maintain that pace, so I had to slow down to secure my place on the podium.”
Moving on?
So to this Sunday and after winning the Mountain Running World Championship title last weekend, Kipngeno is now aiming to double up but he admits it’s a big ask: “Honestly? I don’t know… I’m really very tired from last weekend, where I had to run both World Cup races. They were very competitive races, and I’m really exhausted.
“I’m approaching the Golden Trail now with zero pressure; I just want to finish the season, and I’d already be happy with this second place. This is only my second year in the Golden Trail Series, and it’s already a big improvement from last year.”

And just a spot behind him is Kiriago and he too is relatively happy with where he finds himself, explaining: “I didn’t even think I would be able to recover in time from my injury in Japan. So today, I feel immensely proud to be back on the Golden podium. Now, my goal is to fight and defend this podium.”
However he’s far from given up on overhauling Elazzaoui, adding: “For now, we’re not talking about strategy… Elhousine has won for now, but he will still have to battle Patrick, and if he finishes behind, it’s over for him. Patrick just needs to ease off the pressure, and we’ll see what happens.”
Throwing down the gauntlet!
Either way it looks very much like an African will win the GTWS this year and Kiriago says that would mark an important point: “Nothing is set in stone yet. But it’s clear that if an African wins the Golden Trail Series, it will inspire many people in Africa. It shows that no human is limited.
“What I especially like about the Golden Trail Series is that we are like a real family. We love challenging each other, but outside of the races, we are all united. Seeing an African win would also give me more motivation for next year.
And if more Africans are motivated for 2025, I can already warn the Westerners: sorry, but we’ll be taking over the top five!
“It’s already happening in mountain running, and we’re coming for the top five in trail running as well – unless they decide to train really hard too! Either way, I can’t wait to see it!”
