National Geographic: People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year

WASHINGTON (Feb. 12, 2014)—Spanish ultrarunner Kilian Jornet has been named the 2014 National Geographic People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year for pioneering a hybrid sport that combines trail running and alpinism to break numerous speed records and redefine what is possible in the mountains. He also popularized “sky running,” which involves blazing up technical terrain such as glaciers, rock ridges and steep snowfields in competitions. Jornet was selected from a group of 13 adventure innovators whose extraordinary achievements in exploration, conservation, humanitarianism and adventure sports distinguished them in the past year. More than 75,000 online votes — the most ever — were cast on the National Geographic Adventure website.

 

“I’m very proud of this award,” said Jornet. “While I don’t run to be admired or to have more followers, it’s truly an honor to be recognized by National Geographic and to know that people voted for me.”

 

Jornet, 26, brought sky running into the public eye with his unprecedented streak of breaking records and winning races. Most recently, he blazed up and down Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, in under five hours and went up and down the Matterhorn in a record-breaking two hours and 52 minutes. Both runs were part of Jornet’s Summits of My Life (www.summitsofmylife.com) project, which is his personal quest to set speed records on mountains around the globe. Through the project, Jornet hopes to share his love of mountains and the outdoors, a passion that began when he was growing up in a small ski village in the Catalan Pyrenees.

 

“We believe that Kilian exemplifies the spirit of adventure in the truest sense of the word. He has demonstrated over and over that limits are meant to be pushed, and his growing list of remarkable accomplishments is truly inspiring,” said Mary Anne Potts, editor of National Geographic Adventure online. “We received a record number of online votes from our fans across the adventure community, and we’re thrilled to call Kilian the National Geographic 2014 People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year.”

Doing it just for the love of sport — I’m a HUGE fan.  CONGRATS Kilian!

Kilian Jornet, 2014 People’s Choice