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Wrong age categories leave six athletes without medals at GOMU 48-hour worlds

av Daniel Westergren
8 min läsning
Wrong age categories leave six athletes without medals at GOMU 48-hour worlds
Age group trophies at the GOMU UltraPark 48-hour World ChampionshipFoto: GOMU/UltraPark Weekend

At the Mount to Coast Ultrapark Weekend GOMU 48-Hour World Championship (May 30 - June 1, 2025, Pabianice, Poland) the Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners (GOMU) announced age-group winners that were based on each runner’s year of birth, not their exact age on race day - the standard used by World Athletics and the International Association of Ultrarunners. GOMU handed out the trophies and controlled the championship rules, yet never double-checked the data before the podium ceremony.

Eighteen athletes placed in the wrong category

During the event, the age groups shown on the TV displays at the venue - as well as in the online results - were based on year of birth and not on the runners’ actual age on race day. Age group by year of birth is the standard in Poland, but not internationally.

After the event, Swedish ultrarunning journalist Daniel Westergren (the author of this article) noticed the discrepancy. A quick spreadsheet check showed:

  • 18 athletes in the wrong age category
  • Six runners who should have been on the podium received nothing
  • Five athletes stood on the podium in error

Many competitors probably still have no idea their result is wrong; the official results have not been fixed.

“We can only learn from our mistakes”

When informed, GOMU chairman Trishul Cherns (also Ultrarunning Director for title sponsor Mount to Coast) acknowledged the mix-up but suggested the problem lay with the local organisers and timers. In an email response he wrote:

“Even when we outline this requirement in advance, it often gets lost in translation between the race directors and the timers, or it isn't followed through in practice.”

“This issue frustrates me, as I usually learn about these international standards not being implemented only after the competition or when an athlete approaches me at the awards ceremony.

This oversight has occurred in the past, and when I advocate for the athlete by immediately speaking to the RDs, they are often reluctant to make changes on the spot during the awards ceremony. In those cases, I try to resolve the issue afterward with the RD, but the results are often mixed because they are reluctant to make changes to the entire roster.

The only way forward is to establish improved communication multiple times between timers and RDs both in advance and during the event.”

Asked whether GOMU verified the data before giving out medals, Cherns added: “We can only learn from our mistakes and strive to improve as we recognize them.”

GOMU still silent, no results corrected

As of publication, GOMU has made no public statement or result change. In an email response, Cherns requested a postal address for one mis-ranked athlete - who happens to be the brother of the author of this article - a small fix that does nothing for the many other athletes still affected.

Previous GOMU championships have also raised concerns

The incident is part of a series of quality-control issues that have affected recent GOMU championships. Earlier in May, GOMU officials were criticized when men’s six-day winner Ivan Zaborskii posed with a Russian flag, breaking the event’s neutral-athlete rule. After the incident spread on social media, GOMU issued a public statement - but made no corrections to the results.

That event was listed as having an IAU Label, which implies compliance with IAU guidelines, including rules on athlete eligibility and classification. IAU itself later issued a clarification on its position regarding Russian and Belarusian participants.

Questions also remain whether the event truly qualified for IAU Label status: the race director did not explicitly state that the event lacked the required national sanction from the French Athletics Federation (FFA) - which is a formal prerequisite to get an IAU label - but implied it when commenting on why the French anti-doping agency was not present to carry out doping control at the event. If the event did not have an IAU Label - or failed to meet the necessary criteria - other world records set there may also go unratified.

Similar issues occurred in 2024 at GOMU’s 48-hour World Championship in Balatonfüred, Hungary. That race also lacked national sanctioning from the Hungarian Athletics Federation and therefore did not meet the requirements for IAU Label. As a result, the women’s world record achieved during the event was never ratified.

A conflict of roles?

The situation is further complicated by the fact that Cherns wears two hats: not only is he the chairman of GOMU - the governing body responsible for championship rules and medal decisions - but he also represents the title sponsor, Mount to Coast, as Ultrarunning Director. This overlap raises questions about accountability and oversight when problems arise.

Corrected podiums

It took me only a few minutes to rerun the data using the runners’ actual birth dates. Below are the correct top-three finishers in each age group.

Names in italics were incorrectly awarded by GOMU; names in bold are the corrected rightful podium finishers.

M35

  1. Bartosz Fudali, POL, 465.352 km
  2. Matthew Blackburn, GBR, 368.33 km
  3. Jakob Larni Nielsen, DEN, 358.174 km

GOMU’s error: Hendrik Boury (GER, 363.862 km) was awarded 2nd in M35, but he was only 34. Blackburn was placed in M40.

M40

  1. Andrzej Piotrowski, POL, 446.525 km
  2. Luka Videtic, SLO, 386.524 km
  3. Rasmus Stenemo, SWE, 355.92 km

GOMU’s error: Matthew Blackburn (GBR) was wrongly awarded 3rd in M40 instead of being placed in M35. Stenemo received no podium.

M45

  1. Adam Olkusz, POL, 343.189 km
  2. Lars Skaarup Brødsgaard, DEN, 312.906 km
  3. Piotr Pogocki, POL, 301.164 km

M50

  1. Ville Niemenmaa, FIN, 355.245 km
  2. Piotr Szymanski, POL, 327.862 km
  3. Tomasz Honbrechts, POL, 309.369 km

M55

  1. Søren Møller, DEN, 345.102 km
  2. Heine Kaersgaard Laursen, DEN, 344.717 km
  3. Lars Holm Mose, DEN, 325.4 km

M60

  1. Jozef Zdunek, POL, 282.425 km
  2. Tadeusz Sekretarczyk, POL, 273.606 km
  3. Steen Michelsen, DEN, 251.465 km

GOMU’s error: Mirko Miklic (SLO, 309 km) was awarded 1st in M60 but was only 59 and should have been 4th in M55. Michelsen was listed 4th and received no podium.

M65

  1. Wincenty Korczak, POL, 340.3 km
  2. Jean-Louis Vidal, FRA, 300.238 km
  3. Michael Vorwerg, GER, 286.662 km

M70

  1. Andrzej Blaszkiewicz, POL, 218.754 km
  2. Henryk Bras, POL, 112.158 km

M75

  1. Radi Milev, BUL, 209.272 km

M80

  1. Krzysztof Gabrysz, POL, 129.643 km

W35

  1. Anett Kelemen, HUN, 297.509 km
  2. Justyna Zaremba, POL, 239.561 km
  3. Aniko Horvath, HUN, 221.603 km

GOMU’s error: Zaremba and Horvath were placed in W40 (8th and 10th respectively) instead of W35.

W40

  1. Katja Lykke Tonstad, DEN, 404.733 km
  2. Magdalena Superson, POL, 344.142 km
  3. Andrea Mehner, GER, 330.464 km

W45

  1. Patrycja Bereznowska, POL, 436.371 km
  2. Stine Rex, DEN, 406.458 km
  3. Marlena Golon, POL, 339.091 km

GOMU’s error: Bereznowska and Golon were wrongly placed in W50, for which they received 1st and 2nd. Iwona Surgucka (POL, 277.927 km) was awarded 2nd but should have been 4th. Andrea Veress (HUN, 236.499 km) was awarded 3rd in W45 but should have been 7th in W40.

W50

  1. Marcela Cadova, CZE, 311.973 km
  2. Zsuzsanna Fejer, HUN, 279.648 km
  3. Simone Durry, GER, 277.278 km

GOMU’s error: These athletes were listed 3rd, 4th and 5th, as Bereznowska and Golon were in the wrong age group.

W55

no participant

GOMU’s error: Ursula Finster (AUT, 273.68 km) was incorrectly awarded 1st in W55, but should have been 5th in W50.

W60

  1. Marika Heinlein, GER, 263.793 km
  2. Kerstin Hommel, GER, 240.26 km

W75

  1. Ewa Katarzyna Kasierska, POL, 117.334 km