French trail runner Mathieu Blanchard wins the Grand Raid de la Réunion

SPORT – A legendary victory. After covering 175 km and 10,150 meters of elevation gain, the Franco-Canadian Mathieu Blanchard won the 2024 edition of the Diagonale des fous, this Friday, October 18, on the island of Reunion. The 36-year-old ultra-trailer, former Koh Lanta candidate, completed the Grand Raid with a record time of 23:25:03, for an exceptional distance of 175 km, the course being extended by 10 km this year.

“It was unexpected to win in my first participation, in a race of such magnitude,” he told journalists after the race. “The word dream is not enough”he added, very moved. This victory is all the more delicious for Mathieu Blanchard as it comes forty-eight days after his difficult abandonment during the Ultra-trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), due to an Achilles tendon injury.

Leader over the majority of the course, Mathieu Blanchard was closely followed by the Swiss Jean-Philippe Tschumi, a regular at the Grand Raid and his podium. He finally distanced himself from km 110 and signed a triumphant arrival at the Stade de la Redoute, in Saint-Denis de La Réunion. The winner of the 2023 edition, Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz, has abandoned the race at Maïdo level.

Mathieu Blanchard had already prepared La Diagonale des Fous in 2019, but canceled his participation just two days before departure because another opportunity presented itself to him: participating in Koh Lanta “Les 4 Terres”, in Fiji. Integrated into the blue team, he had distinguished himself in the physical tests, but his adventure had abruptly ended because of an immunity collar.

Pursuing his passion, he distinguished himself in 2021 and 2022 on the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc, with two consecutive podiums, finishing third then second. In 2022, he set a record by finishing the race in less than 20 hours, confirming his status among the world’s best trail runners.

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