Ljubljana-Kamnik, Slovenia. Yannick Memheld, French U23 athlete and Lurbel ambassador, returns from the 2026 European Mountain Running Championships with two medals: gold in the U20 Uphill race —shared with Emilien Simoneau— and silver in the men’s Up & Down. We asked him what it was like.

The medals aren’t the first thing he remembers. “I feel extremely grateful to have been able to experience moments like these,” he says. “At the time, it wasn’t necessarily the medals that left the biggest mark on me, but those five days in Slovenia.”

And between one medal and the next, there was hardly any rest. On Saturday, gold in the Uphill wasn’t enough for him: “After winning the title, all I wanted was to do even more and to suffer even more on Sunday.”

From tennis to the summits

Yannick came to the mountains late. Ten years playing tennis, until his love of the mountains led him to try mountain running. “Cela me réussit plutôt bien,” he says in French — it’s going pretty well for him, yes.

At the end of the conversation, we asked him for just one thing: something to say to those who are starting out. He didn’t take long to answer, and he didn’t need more than two sentences:“Don’t set yourself limits. I became European champion without ever having been French champion. You have to dream.”

Some advice comes from books. This comes from someone who has just taken it to the podium.

His debut on the Merrell Skyrunner® World Series circuit is just around the corner. “I’m really looking forward to getting back to technical races in spectacular settings. Bring on the Maga Sky Marathon!” For the rest of 2026, he has his sights set on the SWS U23, the French VK Championships and the YCC.