Blandine L'Hirondel (born 3 March 1991) is a French trail runner, ultramarathon runner and obstetrician-gynaecologist.
At UTMB Mont-Blanc, she won the OCC in 2021, the CCC in 2022 and the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in 2026. She became the second woman, after Ruth Croft, to win all three races.
She has also won the Diagonale des Fous and Transvulcania.
Running career
L'Hirondel was born in Caen and grew up in Normandy. She began mountain running while living on Réunion during her medical studies and continued in the Pyrenees after returning to mainland France.
In 2019, she won the Trail World Championships in Miranda do Corvo, Portugal, in 4:06:17 and contributed to France's team title. Later that year, she won bronze at the 2019 World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships.
L'Hirondel won the French Mountain Running Championships in 2020 and the OCC in 2021.
In 2022, she won the trail race at the European Off-Road Running Championships, three months after surgery for iliac artery endofibrosis. France also won the team competition. She subsequently won the CCC and the long-trail race at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. The French Athletics Federation named her its female athlete of the year.
L'Hirondel finished third on her 100-mile debut at the 2023 UTMB. In 2024, she won silver in the trail race at the European Off-Road Running Championships, where France won the women's team title.
In 2025, she won the Diagonale des Fous on Réunion in approximately 27 hours and 26 minutes.
L'Hirondel won Transvulcania in May 2026, setting a women's course record of 7:43:47. In August, she won the UTMB in 21:54:49, ahead of Rachel Entrekin and Emily Schmitz. She was the first French woman to win the race since Caroline Chaverot in 2016.
L'Hirondel qualified as an obstetrician-gynaecologist and has worked in sports gynaecology. Her medical and athletic careers were the subject of the 2026 L'Équipe documentary Blandine L'Hirondel, une espèce rare.
Selected results
Year Competition Place Time Ref. 2019 Trail World Championships 1st 4:06:17 2019 World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships 3rd 3:52:07 2020 French Mountain Running Championships 1st — 2021 OCC 1st 5:45:08 2022 European Off-Road Running Championships, trail 1st 4:06:02 2022 CCC 1st 11:40:55 2022 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, long trail 1st 8:22:14 2023 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc 3rd 24:22:50 2024 European Off-Road Running Championships, trail 2nd 5:44:58 2025 Grand Raid 1st 27:26 2026 Transvulcania 1st 7:43:47 2026 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc 1st 21:54:49
References
External links