Trail Golden Tickets won
Thomas Cardin won the Chianti Ultra Trail in 9:58, beating Jim Walmsley’s 2025 time by 70 seconds and securing a Western States Golden Ticket alongside third‑place Bouillard — and in the U.S. Jennifer Lichter clinched a Golden Ticket with her Black Canyon 100K victory. (irunfar.com) (ultrarunning.com)
Thomas Cardin broke away after the race’s midpoint (around km 58) and ran the second half solo to the finish in what was his first race beyond 100 km. (thepostrace.com)) Cardin is a French runner born 9 February 1995 (age 31), races for the Taillefer Trail Team, and was the 2024 European trail champion. (kiprun.com)) The Chianti main event covered 120 km with roughly 5,200 m of elevation gain and the weekend attracted a record field (reported at 1,122 starters across race distances). (utmb.world)) Andreas Reiterer finished second in 10:06:16 but declined a Western States Golden Ticket because his partner was due to give birth, allowing third‑place Vincent Bouillard to accept the WSER entry. (thepostrace.com)) At Black Canyon (a 62‑mile, point‑to‑point race), Jennifer Lichter set a course record in 7:57:05 and beat Anne Flower by 70 seconds in a field that started from Mayer High School with roughly 900 starters. (irunfar.com)) Black Canyon was a Golden‑Ticket race awarding three automatic WSER spots per gender; the women’s roll‑down sequence from pre‑accepted tickets ultimately moved a slot to Molly Seidel according to published results. (irunfar.com)) Runners who accepted Golden Tickets from Chianti and Black Canyon will be eligible to register for the Western States 100 held June 27–28, 2026. (wser.org))
