The Masters Skyrunning World Championships 2026 were brought to a close on 4 October 2026 in São Pedro do Sul, Portugal, with a country podium dominated by the winner of the team event. Portugal takes first place for the third consecutive year in the country standings, while the United Kingdom wins its first silver medal at the Masters and Japan claims bronze.
The 2026 Masters are built around three disciplines, with world titles and 75 medals awarded across four age categories: over 40, over 45, over 50 and over 55. The first 48 medals were awarded in the VERTICAL and SKY disciplines during Pierra Menta Été in France in July.
The SKYULTRA race, organised at Pisão Extreme in the north of Portugal, highlighted a very demanding profile. The 64 km course totalled a massive 5,700 m vertical climb, following a slight modification to the initial parameters. Technical terrain, combined with the challenges specific to the age categories, formed the main difficulty.
The most striking performance among the men was that of Pedro Garrido, 40 years old, who finished in 10h06’58”. He is presented as the first to cross the line, and wins gold in the O40 category. When reacting to his result, he explains that he didn’t believe it at first, after a poor day two weeks earlier at the World Championships in La Gomera.
On the country team standings, the article states that the country ranking is based on the individual points scored by the three best athletes in each age category, in each discipline. Thus, after adding up the points, the country standings give Portugal gold, the United Kingdom silver and Japan bronze. The text also indicates that medals and the ranking are established after VERTICAL and SKY.
