Keller with a perfect race

In the women's short track event, an unpleasant preliminary decision is made halfway through the race. Even before that, some of the bends look slippery. At the beginning of the sixth of nine laps, there is a big crash that tears a gap in the field. Four riders, including Jenny Jackson (CAN), Jenny Rissveds (SWE), Evie Richards (GBR) and Alessandra Keller (CH), break away. Keller's compatriot Ronja Blöchlinger is trying to keep up.

Keller is now regularly increasing the pace and looking for the preliminary decision. While Rissveds was able to keep up, Jackson and Richards also closed the gap again. On the penultimate lap, the Swedish-Swiss duo pull away again. However, Richards loses contact due to a puncture and Jackson loses her most important partner to catch up again.

Keller and Rissveds go into the final lap together. The Swiss rider attacks again and creates a small gap. Shortly before the Rockgarden, Rissveds rides to Keller's rear wheel with her last ounce of strength. However, Keller pulls through the final technical passage undeterred and wins the world title in short track for the first time.

"The home world championships were always in the back of my mind, even when I was injured in the winter. We worked hard towards it, but the fact that it has now worked out leaves me speechless, it's just brilliant," says Keller happily, adding: "I've wanted to win the short track title for a long time. It's great that I can now do it here in front of a home crowd, and I'll wear these World Championship stripes with particular pride."

Bronze goes to Jennifer Jackson. A few seconds behind her, Ronja Blöchlinger sprinted to fourth place. The Swiss rider fought her way forward from the back of the grid and was over the moon: "I really wanted to get to the front, which is why I never really rode in the slipstream, but always overtook. It was worth it, I'm extremely happy and extremely tired."

Results

Holmgren in a class of her own

In the U23 women's short track race, Canadian Isabella Holmgren shows her strength right from the start and regularly puts the pressure on. Initially, her rivals were able to keep up the pace, but Holmgren repeatedly opened up small gaps that fewer and fewer riders were able to close. By the halfway point of the race, she was riding alone at the front and continuously extending her lead. Behind her, a chasing duo formed with Carla Hahn from Germany and Tyler Jacobs from South Africa.

Holmgren confidently defended her short track world championship title. Hahn wins silver, Jacobs bronze. The best Austrian is Katharina Sadnik in fifth place, just a few seconds off the podium. Lea Huber rides to eighth place as the best Swiss athlete.
"It feels very good and it was a great race. I focused on a good start in order to have a safe position on the singletrails and control the pace," said the Canadian, explaining her gold tactics.

Results

Treudler loses in photo finish

The U23 men's race starts quickly, but remains calm at first. For half of the race, the temporary leading groups and the peloton rode together like a pack of cats. This is followed by an increase in speed, including from Finn Treudler, the Swiss top favorite. Several of the eleven or so riders who had previously broken away briefly lose touch. But not Treudler: he put the pedal to the metal and reduced the leading group to five riders with two laps to go.

On the final lap, Treudler continued to set the pace and launched attack after attack. While Rens Teunissen van Manen (NED), Cole Punchard (CAN) and Gustav Pedersen (DEN) dropped back, only the Frenchman Adrien Boichis was able to keep up a few meters behind him. This distance melts away and it comes to a sprint. The two cross the finish line neck and neck, the photo finish decides: Boichis wins just ahead of Treudler. Punchard takes third place ahead of Pedersen.

"After coming second at the 2023 World Championships and having a difficult year last year, I really wanted to win today," says Boichis. "I was involved in a crash and only got back into the race in 15th position, from where I fought my way forward." The newly crowned short track world champion added appreciatively: "That was a really nice race, thanks to Finn for the great duel."

Swiss riders Nicolas Halter and Maxime l'Homme finished eighth and tenth, while Paul Schehl from Germany came twelfth.

Results

Surprise in the final meters

The top-class starting rows immediately set off at high speed in the elite men's race. After a difficult start, 2021 world champion Christopher Blevins from the United States fought his way back into the leading group. There he rode together with Chile's Martín Vidaurre Kossmann, France's Mathis Azzaro, Denmark's Simon Andreassen, Italy's Luca Braidot, two-time short track world champion from 2022 and 2023 Sam Gaze from New Zealand and defending world champion Victor Koretzky from France.

In the fifth of ten laps, Blevins took the lead and controlled the pace on the narrow forest section. A larger group is still together, including Lars Forster, currently the only Swiss rider in the front ranks.

Azzaro and Koretzky form a strong duo, but Blevins is consistently among the top three riders. Right at the start of the final lap, the American launched an attack at high speed on the first climb. However, the French duo counterattacked immediately. On the last berm, Koretzky finally finds the decisive speed to pass Blevins.

Koretzky thus celebrates his first short track victory of 2025. Blevins takes second place, one hundredth of a second behind, while Azzaro finishes third, three hundredths of a second behind.

"To be on the podium with Chris means a lot to me. He's the rider to beat this season and it's not easy," says Koretzky. "It's hard to catch him on the last lap. He opens up a big gap, but I can still close it. I'm over the moon."

The fastest Swiss rider was Filippo Colombo in sixth place, while Max Brandl was the best German in eighth place.

Results