Vincent Bouillard becomes first French winner of Western States 100, smashing course record

Historic win for Bouillard

The Western States Endurance Run, the oldest 100‑mile race in the United States and a cornerstone of the global ultra‑trail calendar, saw a French victor for the first time in its history on 27 June. Vincent Bouillard, 32, crossed the finish line on the track of a high school in Auburn, California, after covering 161 kilometres and 5,500 metres of positive elevation from Olympic Valley. He becomes the first athlete from France to inscribe his name on the trophy of this event, which is one of the four Ultra‑Trail Majors alongside the UTMB at Chamonix, the Diagonale des Fous on Réunion Island and the Hardrock 100 in Colorado.

Record-breaking performance

Bouillard’s winning time of 13:46:16 sliced 23 minutes and 44 seconds off the previous record of 14:09:00 set by Jim Walmsley in 2019. The race unfolded under unusually mild weather conditions, which kept the normally punishing canyon heat at bay and rewarded a breakneck pace from the start. Bouillard spent almost the entire distance inside the top five, watching Walmsley and Hans Troyer break away before both faded and eventually dropped out. Italy’s Francesco Puppi, racing his first 100‑miler, took command at roughly two‑thirds of the distance, but Bouillard reeled him in near the 140‑kilometre mark and powered away to finish alone. Puppi held on for second, nearly five minutes back, while American Ryan Montgomery placed third about eight minutes behind the winner.

Women’s race sees new record

The women’s competition also produced a record‑breaking performance. American Jennifer Lichter, tackling the 100‑mile distance for the first time in competition, won the race and established a new course record. Her achievement underlines the high level of the 2026 edition, where the top four men all dipped under the previous record pace.

Bouillard joins ultra‑running elite

With this victory, Bouillard becomes only the fourth male runner ever to claim both the UTMB and the Western States crowns, joining a short list of legends: Kilian Jornet, Jim Walmsley and Tom Evans. Bouillard, who works as a production and innovation engineer for his sponsor Hoka, had abandoned his first Western States attempt the year before. On Saturday, he turned that disappointment into an unforgettable double. Another Frenchman, European champion Thomas Cardin, underlined the strong showing of the French team by finishing fourth, just over 21 minutes behind Bouillard and also inside the old record time.