Anna Gibson celebrates her Broken Arrow ascent win (© iRunFar)
Anna Gibson and Philemon Ombogo Kiriago set course records to win the ascent and the 23km race, respectively, during the Broken Arrow Skyrace in Palisades Tahoe, California.
The latest stages in the WMRA Mountain Running World Cup involved the ascent – a 5.8km event with 865 metres of vertical gain – on Friday (19) and the 23km long-distance race on Sunday (21).
Gibson and Kipngeno reign supreme
USA’s Gibson and Kenya’s Patrick Kipngeno clinched victory in the ascent.
The course flattens off temporarily at around halfway and it was at this point that Kenya’s Joyce Muthoni Njeru passed early leader Gibson.
In the same place in the men’s race, Kipngeno – who had deftly picked off defending champion Christian Allen, Cameron Smith and Brayan Rodríguez Flores – suddenly stamped his authority on the race. Overtaking early leader Kiriago, Kipngeno immediately opened a gap.
Kipngeno continued to stretch it out, chased hard by Kiriago and Smith, with Smith overtaking Kiriago in the final section. They finished in that order, each around 10 seconds apart, in what was an incredibly close race with a little over two minutes separating the top 10 and less than a minute between the top five.
The battle for the women’s win was even closer. Muthoni Njeru hit the ‘Stairway to Heaven’ in the lead but possibly didn’t realise just how close Gibson was as they found themselves climbing the ladder at the same time.
The final scramble to the summit is virtually unrunnable but somehow Gibson managed to overtake Muthoni Njeru and win by eight seconds, beating her rival’s course record by two minutes. Tabor Hemming rounded out the women’s podium, 90 seconds behind.
Kiriago and Florea clinch 23km crowns
Kiriago produced a historic performance in the men’s 23km, winning in 1:42:59 to improve the course record of 1:43:53 set by Elhousine Elazzaoui in 2025.
In the women’s race, Florea took victory in 2:02:18, one of the fastest performances in the history of the event.
Broken Arrow 23km winner Philemon Ombogo Kiriago (© iRunFar)
After a week of very high temperatures in Palisades Tahoe, heat management remained one of the defining factors. With temperatures around 30°C, the athletes had to balance early ambition with the need to stay controlled through the climbs and technical descents.
The women’s race was shaped for a long time by the battle between Romania’s Florea and Kenya’s course record-holder Muthoni Njeru. The pair ran together for much of the uphill section, before beginning the descent still locked in a fight for victory.
Lauren Gregory remained close enough to keep the pressure on the podium places, while a strong international group fought for the top 10. The decisive move came on the climb to High Camp. From that point, Florea was in control. She held her advantage to take victory in 2:02:18.
The race behind her stayed alive until the finish. Gregory produced a strong closing section to move into second place, finishing in 2:03:56, just ahead of Njeru, who completed the podium in 2:03:59 after playing a major role at the front of the race.
Hemming was fourth, also in 2:03:59, with Nienke Brinkman fifth. Ascent winner Gibson finished sixth, confirming a strong weekend across both race formats.
Kiriago led for almost the entire men’s race. Morocco’s course record-holder Elazzaoui stayed close throughout and repeatedly tried to challenge Kiriago, keeping the race open until the final stages.
In the last kilometre, with the pressure still high and the finish approaching, Kiriago found the strength to hold his position and win in 1:42:59 – improving Elazzaoui’s 2025 record by 54 seconds.
Elazzaoui followed just 13 seconds later and was also inside his previous course record, taking second place in 1:43:12.
Kipngeno completed the men’s podium in 1:44:34, a notable result after his ascent victory. Rodríguez Flores finished fourth in 1:47:25, followed by Taylor Stack in 1:48:48.
The World Cup continues with the Grossglockner Mountain Run on 5 July.
Kirsty Reade and Héctor Rubio (WMRA) for World Athletics
Leading results – ascent
Women
1 Anna Gibson (USA) 43:15
2 Joyce Muthoni Njeru (KEN) 43:23
3 Tabor Hemming (USA) 44:55
4 Milaina Almonte (USA) 45:59
5 Nelie Clement (FRA) 46:21
Men
1 Patrick Kipngeno (KEN) 37:59
2 Cameron Smith (USA) 38:10
3 Philemon Ombogo Kiriago (KEN) 38:22
4 Christian Allen (USA) 38:29
5 Brayan Rodriguez Flores (MEX) 38:51
Leading results – 23km
Women
1 Madalina Florea (ROU) 2:02:18
2 Lauren Gregory (USA) 2:03:56
3 Joyce Muthoni Njeru (KEN) 2:03:59
4 Tabor Hemming (USA) 2:03:59
5 Nienke Brinkman (NED) 2:04:45
Men
1 Philemon Ombogo Kiriago (KEN) 1:42:59
2 Elhousine Elazzaoui (MAR) 1:43:12
3 Patrick Kipngeno (KEN) 1:44:34
4 Brayan Rodríguez Flores (MEX) 1:47:25
5 Taylor Stack (USA) 1:48:48
