From Scott USA Press Release –
Morgan Arritola of Ketchum, Idaho (USA) took the mountain running community by storm this weekend at the World Mountain Running Championships in Ponte di Legno, Italy, finishing 3rd overall in the women’s category with a time of 47:26. Arritola, running only her second mountain running race, pushed her limits in a field of elite runners from around the world, leading Team USA to an overall team gold. Finishing ahead of Arritola, Andrea Mayer (AUT) took gold in 46:35 and local favorite Valentina Bellotti (ITA) took silver in 47:04. After two days of rainy, cold weather, the mountains around Ponte di Legno cleared and runners were greeted with ideal racing weather, between 10-15°C (50-59°F). The women’s course contained 760m (2,490ft) of elevation gain in just over 8.8km.
In an interview after the race, Arritola noted “it was really hard, it’s my second mountain running race (ever), so I really like it. Andrea (Mayer) was very fast on the uphills, so it was very tough… it’s beautiful, a perfect course”. Following her career as a US Nordic ski team member, 26-year-old Arritola also reflected on the nature of competition “You always want to win, you have to go into every race wanting to win, but I’m happy. I did all I could today, and today that was bronze”.
In the men’s race, SCOTT had a strong showing from team runners Marco De Gasperi (ITA), who finished 7th overall, and Joseph Gray (USA) who finished 14th overall. Also notable from the SCOTT women’s team was Monika Furholz (CH), who finished 16th overall.
Official Results can be found here.
