Thomas Cardin

From the pool to the trails 🏃

Before running, Thomas Cardin swam. Up to the age of 18, he clocked lap after lap with his club—until the very demanding framework of elite swimming (an indoor pool, fixed schedules, endless seasons) finally wore him down. Off to the athletics track, then? Not quite: the stadium didn’t win him over either 🏟️. It was ultimately in Paris, where he moved for his studies, that he got seriously into running and then trail running 🏃. The spark was immediate: spotted by the Taillefer Trail Team club, he climbed the ranks at lightning speed 📈.

His progress didn’t take long ⏱️. As early as 2019, he won the French U23 long-trail champion title in Gérardmer, then took the senior win in the short trail at the French Championships in Méribel, where he outsprinted Sylvain Cachard 🏁. Two years later, he won the Trail du Ventoux after taking the lead mid-race, then finished the SaintéLyon hand in hand with Romain Lieux, with the two men unable to be separated at the finish—an image etched into French trail running 🤝. In 2022, he added a second national title in Salers and stepped onto the podium at the European Championships in El Paso (team gold via team ranking). The message was clear: the runner from Grenoble had settled in for the long haul at the top of French trail running 🗻.

2024, the year everything changes 🥇

On June 1, 2024, Thomas Cardin set off in Annecy for the European Championships in mountain running and trail ⛰️. With his teammates, he took the lead from the start, withstood the comeback of the heavy favorite Benjamin Roubiol, and won in 4 hours 58 minutes and 22 seconds. A perfect score for France: Team France swept all 4 titles up for grabs that day 🇫🇷.

A few months later, it was on to Millau for revenge 🎯. Fourth at the Grand Trail des Templiers in 2023, he came back stronger and broke away solo from km 55 to win the 80 km with 3,440 m D+ in 6 hours 38 minutes and 14 seconds 🏆. An already huge season, capped by his signing with KIPRUN Team Trail 💪.

Now, eyes on the ultra 🌍

After a transitional 2025 season toward longer formats, Thomas Cardin kicked it up a gear in 2026. He racked up ultra wins: the Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB in Italy, finished in 9 hours, 58 minutes and 38 seconds, then the Ultra-Trail des Coursières (104 km, 4,100 m D+) in 9 hours, 3 minutes and 10 seconds, with undisputed dominance 🏔️.

On June 27, 2026, he discovered the legendary Western States 100, in Auburn, California: 162 km and about 5,500 m D+ 🏜️. The result: an astonishing 4th place in 14 hours 7 minutes 58 seconds, for his very first attempt at the distance 🔥. That year, the top four—Cardin included—went under the old course record held by Jim Walmsley, proof that the global level in ultra is exploding just like the times ⚡.

Announced among the favorites for the CCC, during UTMB week in late August 2026, he took the lead at the Grand Col Ferret 🚩before dropping out in Champex-Lac. A setback that reminds us that ultra forgives nothing 🎯, but in no way erases a successful transition to the longer distances 👏.