From the inspiring to the tragic, ‘Adventure News of the Week’ presents a wrap-up of top news in the world of exploration and adventure.
SKI: First American Woman Wins FIS World Cup Title. American cross-country skier Jessie Diggins from Afton, Minn., finished the 2020-2021 season with 1,347 total World Cup points, becoming the FIS World Cup overall winner.
“The overall World Cup globe is the biggest thing that I could ever possibly achieve,” Diggins said to Team USA.
RUN: South African Runner Breaks 10,000M Record Barefoot. After South African runner Mbuleli Mathanga faced backlash for wearing the contentious Nike Vaporflys in a 5,000m race in Durban, South Africa, he ran his next race barefoot instead.
In his barefoot race, Mathanga set a provincial 10,000m record of 28:24.93, finishing in second place overall. (Mathanga ran the 5,000m in a personal best of 13:47.23.)
SKIMO: Rea Kolbl Sets Female Skimo Record for 24-Hour Uphill Vert Distance. “New 24 hour world record!” declared Kolbl on Strava. “Perfect day, perfect conditions, perfect crew, and perfect gear.”
The multi-title Toughest Mudder champion and Spartan athlete from Colorado skied an impressive 92.14 miles and 55,045 vertical feet, setting a new uphill world record.
RACE: Adventure Race Win in New Zealand. Adventure racing team Avaya took first place in New Zealand’s recent 666km GODZone Adventure Race.
Wednesday’s victory for Team Avaya — which consists of Nathan Fa’avae, Chris Forne, Sophie Hart, and Stu Lynch — is the fifth time the team has won the world’s largest expedition adventure race.
