The GTWS moved to Myoko City in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, kicking off the season's decisive "Asian triple" first leg. With overall points leaders Elhousine Elazzaoui and Madalina Florea both absent, this stop not only guaranteed a new race winner but could also dramatically reshape the battle for the year-end overall title.

Men: Philemon Ombogo Kiriago, buoyed by his third win of the season at Sierre-Zinal, arrives in high spirits and could close the gap on—or even overtake—Elazzaoui atop the overall standings;Michael Selelo Saoli, currently third in the overall standings, is also a serious contender; Patrick Kipngeno has twice won in Japan and treats it as a lucky venue. In addition, athletes such as Christian Allen (ACG), Brayan Rodríguez and Joey Hadorn (Salomon), Ezekiel Rutto (Salomon), and Isacco Costa (La Sportiva) also have the potential to shake up the race.

Women: Florea's absence guarantees a new GTWS race winner at this stop.Ruth Gitonga (Run2Gether On Trail), currently third in the overall standings, is this season's breakthrough star and will push for her first series victory;Barbora Bukovjan (Salomon) and Marie Nivet (ACG) are also in strong form, the latter having just won UTMB ETC;María Fuentes (Kailas Fuga) also has a solid chance.

Course hardcore: an extreme test of two climbs and two descents. The 24.7 km course with 2,020 m of cumulative ascent includes two steep climbs and two technical downhills, leaving athletes almost no room to breathe. Both the downhill and uphill sections carry bonus points, so pacing and energy distribution will be decisive.

The women's race fired first, launching into a 5 km major climb immediately after the start. Soon,Barbora Bukovjan、Marie Nivet andRuth Gitonga formed a three-person lead group.

Soon, German athlete Hanna Grober took the lead, first through the 3 km checkpoint in 26:16.Ruth Gitonga was close behind her.

Aerial footage clearly showed the two athletes' competitive dynamic.

Arriving at the first downhill section,Hanna Grober bounded down the mountain like an antelope — smooth rhythm, full of power and a pleasure to watch; her live pace even hit 3:00/km.

Czech runner Barbora Bukovjan was also quick on the descent.

At the 9.8 km checkpoint,Hanna Grober clocked 1:02:45, extending her lead to 1:31.Barbora Bukovjan was third, 2:57 behind.

After the first major descent came a second climb immediately, leaving runners almost no flat section to recover.

At the 15.5 km checkpoint, Hanna Grober remained in the lead, her advantage growing to 2:42. With 9 km to go, barring a major incident the win was very likely hers.

Barbora Bukovjan then overtookRuth Gitonga moved up to second, though there was almost no gap between the two.

On the second climb,Hanna Grober remained dominant; at the 18 km checkpoint she was nearly four minutes ahead of second. Interestingly, the battle for the runner-up spot was very heated, the French athleteMarie Nivet was in second,Barbora Bukovjan third,Ruth Gitonga fourth.

In the end,Hanna Grober powered to victory in 2:30:19.Marie Nivet took second in 2:33:07,Barbora Bukovjan was third in 2:33:53.

Twenty minutes later the men's race started. Despite some heel injury,Christian Allen nonetheless boldly took the lead after the start.

At the 3 km checkpoint,Patrick Kipngeno andMichael Selelo Saoli showed strong climbing ability, recording times of 21:11 and 21:12 respectively, and were 17 seconds ahead of third-placed Timothy Kibett.

On the downhill section,Timothy Kibett's strength proved superior; he overtookPatrick Kipngeno to move into the lead.

At the 9.8 km checkpoint,Timothy Kibett clocked 51:43, leading the second-placedPatrick Kipngeno by 29 seconds, third-placedMichael Selelo Saoli by 36 seconds.

On the second uphill section,Timothy Kibett continued to lead and gradually extended his advantage.

At 15.5 km he clocked 1:14:31, leading the second-placedPatrick Kipngenoby 1 minute 12 seconds, third-placedMichael Selelo Saoli by 1 minute 18 seconds.

At the 18 km checkpoint,Timothy Kibett extended his lead to 1 minute 23 seconds; however, at the 19.5 km checkpoint Kibett’s advantage had been cut to 46 seconds — he lost 36 seconds over a mere 1.27 km climb. The suspense returned.

On the final downhill section,Timothy Kibett stopped several times, watching in disbelief asPatrick Kipngeno andMichael Selelo Saoli passed him. Even the women’s leader overtook him on the downhill.

Ultimately,Patrick Kipngeno claimed the win in 2:07:12.Philemon Ombogo Kiriago staged a late comeback to take second in 2:08:37, overtakingElhousine Elazzaoui climbed to the top of the annual overall points standings.。

Michael Selelo Saoli took third in 2:09:06. Kibett finished fourth. Kenya swept the top four places in the men’s race.

The seventh stop of the Golden League World Series will head to Jinshanling Great Wall, Hebei, China next weekend; Paoye will continue to follow the event.