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Dramatic relay concludes World Championships, France wins gold

The World Championships 2023 finished with golden glory for the French duo Emily Harrop & Thibault Anselmet.

 

Boí Taüll, 5 March 2023 – The WÜRTH MODYF ISMF World Championships are in the books. The last event of the busy week was the Senior Mixed Relay race. 25 teams lined up for the qualification in the morning, with the 12 fastest making it through to the Final.

The course had two uphills and downhills with 127 metres of elevation. Each team consisted of one man and one woman who did two circuits in the finals.
Seven countries made it to the finals, with France, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland with two teams. Slovakia and Germany had one team each.

The final started with the women’s run. Emily Harrop handed the baton to Thibault Anselmet in the first place, with a slight lead, but then the race started to get dramatic. The second French team, Axelle Gachet-Mollaret and Robin Galindo, closed the gap, with two Spain teams behind them.

It was a thriller in the last round. Inigo Martinez de Albornoz was in the lead, but Robin Galindo overtook him. Anselmet returned to the front at the end of the passage on foot and kept the narrow lead. Anselmet and Harrop won the World Championships title in the same place where they last year won the European title.

“Me and Thibault, we went a little bit too hard in the first loop, and I felt it in the second one. However, Thibault saved a bit of energy for the second uphill, and in the section on foot, he accelerated and decided the race. I’m relieved we did well with Thibault, as I had to sacrifice the Individual to be in shape for the relay. I’m very happy about the whole week,” said Emily Harrop, who won two gold medals and one bronze medal at this World Championships.

 

After an incredible comeback, the silver medal went to the Italian team Nicolo Ernesto Canclini & Giulia Murada. He went into the last circuit from fourth place with a 23-second deficit to 2nd place. After an incredible performance and a quick last transition, he and Murada could celebrate the silver medal.

“At the start of the last lap, I remembered what my friend Robert Antionioli did in Villars 2019. I gave it all… But it worked out, and we are happy to have won a medal. Such a beautiful end to the championship,” said Canclini, the day’s hero.

The bronze medal went to the second French team Gachet-Mollaret & Galindo.
The combined ranking World Champions are Maximilien Drion du Chapois (Belgium) and Axelle Gachet-Mollaret, who won four gold medals and one bronze medal. She is the most successful athlete of this championship and continues writing the ski mountaineering history.

Italy won the Nation ranking with 2141 points. Switzerland finished second, and France third.

Full results HERE.
For the Press gallery, click HERE.
For the combined ranking, click HERE.