The first official Everesting-The first World Championships took place on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily on 21 September 2025. At this event, Canadian Jack Burke and Briton Illi Gardner became the first world champions in this endurance discipline. More than 100 cyclists from 16 nations took part in the event, in which the athletes had to repeatedly ride up a climb in order to win the world championship. Altitude metres of Mount Everest (8,848 metres). The main discipline, the Full Everesting, required seven climbs from the town of Linguaglossa, with participants having to cover a total distance of 277 kilometres. Burke needed a total of The challenge 7 hours and 30 minutes, while Gardner won the women's competition with a time of 8 hours, 28 minutes and 40 seconds.
Only a few finishers at the Everesting World Championships
The toughness of the event was reflected in the finisher rate: of all participants, only 16 athletes were able to complete the full Everesting with 8,848 metres of altitude on Mount Etna. Three women and 13 men completed the full Everesting. Many participants opted for the shorter formats such as the Half Everesting or Quarter Everesting. In the Half Everesting, in which 4,424 metres of altitude had to be covered, the Italian Dario Curasi won the men's category with a time of 5 hours, 35 minutes and 28 seconds. In the women's category, Spain's Gemma Rosell came out on top with a time of 8 hours, 23 minutes and 33 seconds. Bulgarian Victor Asenov took part in the event as a blind athlete in tandem with his guide. He had already completed an Everesting on foot this year.
Personal triumph story of the winner
For 30-year-old Jack Burke, the historic world championship title marks another milestone in a career characterised by ups and downs. After realising his dream of becoming a professional cyclist, he had to overcome several serious setbacks. Firstly, he was involved in a doping case, of which he was later acquitted. He then suffered serious injuries in an accident when he was hit by a car. After these strokes of fate, he successfully turned to ultra-endurance sport, which has now culminated in his world championship title. "It's an incredible feeling after so many hours on the bike. I really enjoyed it, especially the camaraderie with the other riders when we met up and down Mount Etna," said Burke after his victory.
Results Everesting World Championship
In the men's Full Everesting, Australian Jack Thompson took second place with a time of 8 hours, 23 minutes and 24 seconds. The German Volker Voit completed the podium with a time of 8 hours, 44 minutes and 13 seconds. In the women's category, Germany's Annette Griner secured second place with a time of 9 hours, 57 minutes and 15 seconds, while Belgium's Delphine Thirifays took third place with a time of 10 hours, 24 minutes and 11 seconds. With her victory, world champion Illi Gardner confirmed her status as the leading athlete in this discipline - she is already the current Everesting world record holder.
The Everesting movement
Everesting has become a global sports brand since its creation in 2014. The original challenge is to accumulate the positive elevation gain of Mount Everest (8,848 metres) by repeating any climb as many times as necessary - at any time and in any way. Under the leadership of Andy van Bergen from Australia, this has developed into a globally recognised endurance challenge that has already been completed by more than 33,000 athletes in 126 countries. Today, in addition to the sporting challenge, Everesting also includes a global community, a digital platform, a collection of merchandising and technical products and a range of experiences.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
