One of the greatest mountain runners in history is stepping away from competition — and this time, there’s no pushing through the pain.
Kilian Jornet, the legendary Spanish ultra-runner who has redefined what’s possible in mountain racing, has announced he will undergo knee surgery and withdraw from UTMB 2025, the iconic 174-kilometer race around Mont Blanc that begins August 28 in Chamonix, France.
What makes this moment so striking isn’t just the withdrawal — it’s what Jornet has quietly been enduring to keep competing at all.
He’s been racing on a damaged knee for roughly three years, and the full picture of that sacrifice is only now coming into focus.
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Three Years of Pain, Finally a Decision
Jornet confirmed the news via Instagram, stating that after months of managing the injury conservatively, his medical team has concluded that surgery is the only real path forward.
After several months dealing with a knee injury, we have decided, together with my medical team, that surgery is the best next step. However, after a long effort a few days ago, I realised that the issue was still there, which means we need to find a more permanent solution.
No procedure name, surgery date, or recovery timeline has been shared yet — though Jornet promised updates as more becomes clear.
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Back in June, he’d already pulled back the curtain further than most elite athletes ever would, publishing his actual MRI results on his Substack newsletter. The report revealed a horizontal rupture in the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus, cartilage damage on the kneecap, and bone marrow edema — fluid building inside the bone at the site of the injury.
In plain terms: this was serious, and had been serious for a long time.
He Went Into Western States Already Hurting
Jornet had mapped out three target races for his 2025 season back in February — Western States 100, Sierre-Zinal, and UTMB. His reasoning was pure competitor’s instinct.
What excites me isn’t discovery or exploration… It’s the competition.
That competitive fire, however, couldn’t override the reality of what his body was dealing with.
He started Western States on June 27 already managing left knee pain and doing physiotherapy at home between sessions. By mile 38, at the Dusty Corners checkpoint, his race was over. He’d held on through 25 miles before gradually losing ground, and the body finally said enough.
Earlier in May, he’d raced Zegama-Aizkorri — a mountain marathon in Spain’s Basque Country that wasn’t even on his original schedule — finishing 43rd. Forty-third. In a race he has won eleven times.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
After that result, he acknowledged the injury had become severe enough that walking down stairs caused pain. He skipped Sierre-Zinal entirely to protect what he hoped would be a UTMB build. That plan has now officially unraveled.
A Knee That Has Defied Odds Before
The story of Jornet’s left knee stretches back almost two decades. In 2006, as a teenager still in school, he fractured his kneecap after jumping from one street level down to another while carrying an armload of books home. Surgeons repaired it using a cerclage — a wire loop that holds fractured bone together while it heals.
The doctor reportedly doubted he would ever return to elite competition.
He went on to become arguably the most dominant mountain runner the sport has ever seen. But that original damage never fully disappeared from the equation, and the current crisis likely traces its roots back to a first meniscus tear that Jornet estimates began around three years ago.
Every kilometer my knee allows me to run hard is a gift.
He’s also been candid about the broader physical reality of competing at his level as he ages, noting that his neuromuscular system has shown the most significant decline — and that mechanical injuries and muscular problems have grown more frequent as a direct result.
What His Absence Means for UTMB 2025
Jornet becomes the third high-profile withdrawal from an already depleted men’s field, joining Katie Schide and defending champion Tom Evans on the sidelines.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
His UTMB Index rating of 948 had placed him second overall — behind only Jim Walmsley’s 967 — in what race organizers had described as one of the strongest fields in the event’s history. That field is looking considerably thinner now.
With Jornet out, Ben Dhiman enters as the current favorite according to iRunFar’s pre-race analysis, while Walmsley and Jonathan Albon are being monitored as injury concerns heading into race week.
For Jornet personally, this will mark four consecutive editions of UTMB without a start. Bone edema in his right hip ended his 2023 campaign. He was absent in 2024 as well. The last time he crossed the UTMB finish line was in 2022, when he clocked 19:49:30 — the first sub-20-hour finish in the race’s entire history.
That record still stands. And given what comes next, it may stand for quite a while longer.
What Comes Next for the GOAT of Mountain Running
Jornet has been characteristically measured about the road ahead, offering no promises beyond transparency when he knows more.
There are still many unknowns about the next steps, but I will share more when I know more.
With no surgery date confirmed and no recovery window announced, the timeline for his return to racing remains entirely open. Which, for a man who has spent the better part of three years defying medical logic just to stay on the start line, might actually be the right call.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
The sport will be watching — and waiting.
