Trail running in the Olympics? Top stars say it could be a backward step for the sport

Could trail running feature in the Olympic Games as early as 2032?

And just as pertinent a question, would it be a good thing for the sport?

The Paris Olympics were an undoubted success and a number of new sports made their mark, though one or two others made less of an impression and won’t be reappearing at Los Angeles 2028.

‘Exploration and discovery important’

On the men’s side there’s no doubt that GOAT of the sport is Kilian Jornet and he underlined that with another magical display to win a thrilling Sierre-Zinal at the weekend, soon after the men’s marathon took place in Paris.

A repeat of his battle with Philemon Kiriago on the technical descents in Switzerland would be box office gold but it was interesting that when the Golden Trail World Series sat down with Kilian and fellow trail running star Rémi Bonnet (the video is embedded below) they had mixed views on whether inclusion at the Olympics would be a good thing for the rapidly-growing sport.

Their opinions are all the more interesting as the pair of them cut across a range of other high-octane sports – Jornet is a master of many disciplines including ski mountaineering as is Bonnet.

Asked what he thinks the future holds for trail running, Jornet said: “I think it can evolve in many different ways, and I believe that’s a positive thing. With more people coming into the sport, there will be more who enjoy niche races, and others who prefer big events with thousands of participants, covering both long and short distances.

“There’s also talk about whether trail running might go to the Olympics or become more standardised. I hope that there will still be room for everyone – that we keep races that embrace the wild side of trail running, where exploration and discovery are important, alongside races that focus more on performance while maintaining a close connection with nature.”

Keeping the soul of the sport

And that was echoed by Bonnet, who added: “Yeah, I hope it doesn’t change much. We’ve seen with skimo [ski mountaineering] going to the Olympics – for me it’s bull****.

“I hope the same doesn’t happen with trail.

“We love what we do, going into nature, climbing mountains, reaching the top, not just staying at the bottom. I hope it stays like that.”

And when pushed Bonnet admitted: “I’d prefer to not go to the Olympics and keep my sport the same.”

That tricky balance of the sport potentially being watered down for mass consumption was again picked up by Jornet who pointed out: “If it goes to the Olympics, keeping the same rules and keeping the same format, the same spirit, it can be okay.

“But there are not many good examples from the past, like skimo or mountain biking. It would require a lot of changes within the Olympic Committee to trust it could be real trail running.”

There is a growing momentum to try and get trail running to the Olympics, including UK and Australian initiatives.