On Sunday, the Spaniard competes in the Zegama-Aizkorri, a 42.195 km trail with an elevation gain of more than 2,700 m in the mountains of the Basque Country which he has already won... nine times.

Q: As a child, did you run around?

A: "My parents had a refuge in the Pyrenees. As soon as we got home from school, my sister and I would go play in the forest behind, we would go for walks, climb the fir trees, the rocks, look for and see animals. And on weekends we always went with my parents to the surrounding peaks, so 3000 m. During the holidays, we would go to a mountain range, climb a peak, do a crossing. My father was a guide high mountains, my mother has always been passionate. There is a side of discovery, which has always been the main source (of my motivation). And in competition, it's the same thing, it's internal discovery when you are in nature. To realize that it is our home".

The joy of the Spaniard Kilian Jornet, winner of the 16th edition of the Mont-Blanc Marathon, on July 1, 2018 in Chamonix JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT AFP / Archives

Q: How was your career built?

A: "It was quite gradual. When I was a kid I had a lot of energy, I did activities but without any control, I was going to hit 150 km by bike but without any idea. And at 12, I entered a ski mountaineering center in Catalonia, there I had a framework, a trainer, a team, it was an important moment in my career because I discovered that we could do things well with a structure, a periodization. And that's something that's been with me ever since."

Q: Did you ever think of living in the mountains?

A: "No, never. When I talk to my former coach when I was young, even when I won the Junior World Championships, we didn't think about the goal but just about training. There was this side: sport, we are not sure to live from it, you have to study on the side. I had never thought of making money in it. Until the age of 20, I put all my money to practice, pay for groceries, train until sometimes I couldn't even pay my electricity bill. But we didn't care if we didn't have electricity for a month, the important thing was was racing. I thought it would always be my passion but never my profession."

Spaniard Kilian Jornet, during the 4th and final stage of the 36th edition of the Pierra Menta, March 12, 2022 in Arèches-Beaufort JEFF PACHOUD AFP / Archives

Q: Years have passed and you are still in the forefront.

How do you manage to stay efficient?

A: "The body evolves all the time, there are things I did when I was young that I can't do today and vice versa. When you are young, you can recover very quickly, but your body does not have the experience. to take things in, you have to create a lot of volume and dynamics that will last over time. At my age, today I can't improve a lot, but I see that if I find the right sessions and the means to challenge my body, the performance continues to rise. It's super inspiring to see athletes in athletics like Eliud Kipchoge (double Olympic marathon champion, editor's note) who is close to forty and who continues to progress year after year.

Spaniard Kilian Jornet, followed by Swiss Werner Marti, during the 4th stage of the Ski Mountaineering World Cup, February 9, 2018 in Puy Saint-Vincent JEFF PACHOUD AFP / Archives

Q: Can we progress by integrating yoga for example?

A: "We often hear that, the guy started doing yoga and he made progress. It's good yoga, or the diet, but that's not what will make him progress, it's deeper changes. Training is stressing our body, how to stress it so that it adapts to new loads. When you're young, it's very simple, you have to put volume and l intensity. For me today, it's just finding ways to put stress in my body, which already knows a lot. It's for example sessions at altitude or with different intensities. On the other hand, in competition, I pay more attention to race management today with a protocol for nutrition during the race or a recovery protocol between races. And that works too”.

Spaniard Kilian Jornet, after the 4th stage of the Ski Mountaineering World Cup, February 9, 2018 in Puy Saint-Vincent JEFF PACHOUD AFP / Archives

Interview by Sabine COLPART

© 2022 AFP