French runner Julien Veysseyre has become the first amputee athlete to finish the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in Chamonix, completing the grueling 174-kilometre mountain course in 44 hours, 16 minutes and 4 seconds on Sunday.
The 39-year-old athlete crossed the finish line in the middle of the afternoon accompanied by his children, ending an ordeal that saw him battle through severe physical pain from the opening miles. He finished in 1,479th place out of roughly 2,400 competitors who set off from Chamonix on Friday evening.
After crossing the line, Veysseyre was joined by his entire support team, including five guides who had taken turns running beside him along the Alpine loop. The guides were tasked with carrying and swapping his secondary prosthetic leg to match changing terrain profiles across the mountain trails.
Speaking in the mixed zone after completing the race, Veysseyre admitted he struggled to process what he had achieved at that exact moment. He added that he was delighted with the outcome because reaching the finish line had been far from guaranteed.
Overcoming severe pain
Veysseyre's historic achievement came close to unraveling almost immediately after Friday evening's start. He suffered pain in his non-disabled foot alongside uncomfortable pressure around the prosthetic fitting on his right leg, leaving him barely able to run.
By the time he reached the midpoint town of Courmayeur, situated roughly 80 kilometres into the loop, he felt the effort had turned into a matter of pure survival. Veysseyre recalled that in his mind, he was 98 percent sure he would be forced to pull out of the race.
Courmayeur, an Italian mountain town located on the southern flank of Mont Blanc, serves as one of the primary timing stations and rest stops during the loop around the Mont Blanc massif. The 174-kilometre UTMB course challenges competitors with more than 10,000 metres of positive elevation gain as it circles through alpine passes across France, Italy and Switzerland.
Determined to continue, Veysseyre gritted his teeth and pushed forward with encouragement from one of his guides, who helped rebuild his motivation to stay in the race. He persevered through the final mountain sectors to reach Chamonix amid loud applause from spectators.
Crowd support and mountain journey
Smiling after the finish, Veysseyre said he had not expected such an overwhelming reception at the finish line. He noted that even along the remote mountain trails, widespread coverage of his challenge meant almost everyone he passed knew his first name.
Veysseyre lost his right leg following a workplace accident when he reached the age of majority 20 years ago. He rebuilt his life through sports, eventually taking up triathlon and rising to become a world champion in the discipline in 2023.
His athletic performances caught the attention of French outdoor sports brand Salomon, which selected him for its specialized para team and introduced him to mountain trail running. Last year, Veysseyre completed the 100-kilometre CCC course, a major subsidiary race of the UTMB week, which cemented his ambition to tackle the main event.
Before setting off on Friday, Veysseyre had described the UTMB as the biggest challenge he would ever have to undertake in his life. His completion of the circuit marks a historic milestone for adaptive athletes in extreme mountain endurance sports.
