Athletes during their sun rise swim shortly before Ascona.
Antonin Costa in the leading pack – the young Swiss athlete was early on in the lead (photo: Benjamin Savary)
From the Mirror-Smooth Lake to the Mountain Passes
At 5 in the morning, there was no sign of the heat that would come to define the day. The athletes started in near-perfect conditions: Lake Maggiore lay smooth and still, swimming conditions straight out of a storybook. Just before 6am, the first two athletes emerged from the water and set off on the cycling leg. From that point on, supporters, family and fans were able to follow their athletes throughout the day via live tracking. The 180 km cycling route over the Gotthard, Furka and Grimsel passes also showed conditions at their finest. Blue skies, the passes in full glory. The day on the bike passed without incident.
An athlete conquering the iconic cobble stone road up to Gotthard. (photo: Benjamin Savary)
An athlete on his way down from Furka. (photo: Kerstin Rupf)
Relentless Sun on the Running Course
After long, hot hours in the saddle, the final discipline change took place at Lake Brienz. Over the marathon distance via Grindelwald up to the Kleine Scheidegg, the sun beat down mercilessly on the athletes for much of the course. Managing the heat became the true king’s discipline of this Swissman. Only as the first athletes made their ascent from Grindelwald did a few clouds roll in and bring a little welcome rain. More than ever before, water was used that day not only for hydration from within, but also for cooling from without. What happens when things don’t go to plan was illustrated perfectly by Norwegian athlete Grunde Myhrer: his supporter suffered a mechanical issue on the Grimsel descent and was unable to accompany him through to Grindelwald. Others immediately stepped in. Within a very short time, replacement supporters had been found from among the crew and spectators. As Myhrer’s supporter unexpectedly made it to Grindelwald in time, the stand-ins were ultimately not needed. Grunde Myhrer reached the Kleine Scheidegg with his supporter by his side, exactly as planned. That is the SWISSMAN Spirit: when someone needs help, it is there.
Natural cooling on the run course – an athlete passing the Giessbach waterfall (photo: Benjamin Savary)
Arrival in the night – the SWISSMAN finish line in front of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.
Familiar and New Faces at the Front
Czech athlete Petr Soukup was the first man to reach the finish line on the Kleine Scheidegg, arriving at 16:52. He was followed by Swedish athlete Patrik Ericsson at 17:12 — for the third time after 2023 and 2024, he finishes second at the SWISSMAN. Third to finish was Swiss athlete Urs Müller at 17:30. In the women’s race, Swiss athlete Yael van der Geest was first to cross the finish line, arriving at 18:49. In 2025, at 25 years old, van der Geest was the youngest Swiss participant at the Swissman and finished second in her debut. She was followed at 19:05 by German athlete Elena Illeditsch. Swiss athlete Nora Fehlbaum was the third woman to reach the Kleine Scheidegg, arriving at 20:22. By shortly after midnight, 186 of the 239 athletes who started had made it to the finish, among them 163 men and 23 women.
The fastest three men with Petr Soukup (right), Patrick Ericsson (middle) and Urs Müller (left) with their supporters.
The fastest three women with Yael Van der Geest (middle), Elene Illeditsch (right) and Nora Fehlbaum (left) and their supporters.
Emotions from the Furka to the Kleine Scheidegg
How deeply the SWISSMAN gets under your skin was captured perfectly by one athlete after her finish. She had been overwhelmed with emotion throughout the entire day, she said. The feeling first really hit her on the descent from the Furka, where she thought to herself: “wow, ok, I’m actually doing this.” Hours later, she stood at the finish on the Kleine Scheidegg, moved to tears.
