Kilian Jornet wins 9th Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc

Jornet, Arabaru and Chaigneau claim the top 3 places in the North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc

Young Spanish runner Kilian Jornet has won first place in the Ultra Trail once more. The 23 year old cruised in at a mere 20 hours, 36 minutes and 43 seconds in one of the closest run editions of the UTMB there has ever been.

Fellow Spaniard Iker Karrera Aranburu was breathing down his neck and came in just a few minutes later with Frenchman Sebastien Chaigneau not far behind.

Aranbaru finished in 2nd place at 20:48:30 and Chaigneau in 3rd place at 20:55:51.

The first woman over the finishing line looks almost guaranteed to be British athlete Lizzie Hawker (yet again!), as she is apparently at least an hour ahead of her nearest female competitor. She passed through Catogne about half an hour ago, so keep an eye on the UTMB Facebook page for updates or head into town to give her a cheer as she shouldn't be long now!

More news and photos to follow...