A prominent Swiss team and many strong Frenchmen will try to challenge Dario Cologna for his fifth victory at the Engadin Ski Marathon on Sunday. For women, top female athletes from several countries provide an exciting starting position. More than 11,200 participants have already registered, the track is in excellent condition and the weather forecasts give hope for a very fast race.
Superstar Dario Cologna ended his World Cup career in Oslo with an exclamation mark a week ago. A victory in the Engadin Ski Marathon on Sunday could crown them completely. The 42 kilometers from Maloja to S-chanf always had a very special meaning for the Münstertal native; he was first in four times already, including in the last edition in 2019. With a fifth victory, Cologna could catch up with the unforgettable Albert Giger, who had also won the Engadin five times in the seventies.
The task will probably not be easy for Cologna. As always, the competition at the Engadin Ski Marathon is handpicked and the Swiss in particular are always particularly motivated in Engadin.
Jonas Baumann is the most consistent Swiss World Cup runner of the last two seasons, Jovian Hediger, like Cologna, is showing himself in front of an international audience for the last time, Valerio Grond became U23 World Champion two weeks ago, Curdin Raez won the Gommerlauf a week ago and Toni Livers is still training after his official resignation and is always ready for a surprise.
The traditionally well-represented French people in particular will ensure that the victory is not simply won by the Swiss. Adrien Backscheider made a good impression on the Olympic team, Tom Mancini was regularly strong in the World Cup and Continental Cup, Arnaud Chautemps finished tenth in Lahti's World Cup sprint two weeks ago and Jean Marc Gaillard is an experienced player at the Engadin and was second in the Gommerlauf behind Curdin Raez.
Top women have priority
Even among women, victory is not achieved solely among Swiss women. Silje Øyre Slind is one of the strongest long-distance runners from Norway and is one of the top favorites on Sunday. She showed that she likes Engadin in January when she finished 4th in the classic “La Diagonela”. Her strongest competitors are likely to include Italian Elisa Brocard, who finished second at this year's Transjurassienne over 63 km. The experienced German World Cup runner Nadine Herrmann and the Frenchwoman Enora Latuillière round off the field of top foreign women.
From a Swiss perspective, Davos Seraina Boner is likely to be the biggest asset. She was in 6th place at the Gommerlauf, 4th at the Engadin Women's Run and was already able to celebrate top ten positions at the Engadin Ski Marathon.
By the way, the elite women start five minutes before the rest of the field. “With the separate start for the best women, we want to offer them even better conditions for the competition,” says race director Adriano Iseppi. “Running in a sometimes even motivated men's field means unnecessary stress for women, and it can also influence the course of the race. This also makes the women's race easier to understand for television audiences.”
The Engadin Ski Marathon is produced by Swiss television SRF and broadcasted live on television in several countries.
New start procedure and new route
On marathon Sunday, however, the eyes are not only on the top runners, but also on the new starting procedure. The new launch will take place in 29 waves of a maximum of 500 people. There is also an innovation between Pontresina and Samedan: From Pontresina, the route changes over a new bridge to the left side of the Flaz river. It crosses the RhB railway line through a widened underpass and leads to an additional loop at the picturesque church of San Gian near Celerina. From there, the trail leads through the widened underpass of the cantonal road to the airfield level near Samedan.
Live broadcast from 8:10 a.m.
The Engadin Ski Marathon will be broadcasted live on SRF zwei, via the SRF Sport app or even via the Engadin Ski Marathon website and srf.ch from 8:10 a.m. The broadcast starts with impressions from the starting area and then shows the entire race.
In addition to the live broadcast, current events can be followed on the Engadin Ski Marathon Facebook and Instagram channels.
Live broadcasts 2022
- SRF zwei, from 08.10 — 10:20 a.m., live broadcast (German)
- RSI LA2, 8:20 — 9:25 a.m., live broadcast (Italian)
- RSI LA2, 11:40 — 12:25 p.m., live broadcast (Italian)
Online live stream 2022
- From 8:10 a.m.: www.srf.ch/sport & SRF Sport app (German) *
- From 8:20 a.m.: www.rsi.ch/sport & RSI Sports app (Italian) *
- From 8:20 a.m.: www.rts.ch/sport & RTS Sports app (French) *
The Engadin Marathon Week
- Youth Sprint, Wednesday, March 9, 2022
- Engadin night run, Thursday, March 10, 2022
- Engadin Ski Marathon, Saturday, March 12, 2022
- Engadin Half Marathon, Sunday, March 13, 2022
Information about the 52nd Engadin Ski Marathon, 13th Engadin Half Marathon and 4th Engadin Night Run on www.engadin-skimarathon.ch.
At the address www.liveimage.ch There is also a current picture gallery on display on a regular basis, which is fed by photographers directly from the track.
Christian Gartmann has been Communications and Media Officer for the Engadin Ski Marathon since 2014.