Barbara Bischof secured a sensational victory at the Worthersee Marathon

Barbara Bischof of Austria secured a sensational victory at the inaugural women’s Wörthersee Marathon on September 27, 2026. Racing on home soil, Bischof clocked an incredible personal best to edge out a competitive international field and claim the historic premier title.

The article below highlights the top performances, strategic battles, and community enthusiasm that defined the successful debut of this scenic 42.195-kilometer lakeside race.

A dream became reality for the Austrian running community on Sunday, September 27, 2026, as the first-ever Wörthersee Marathon made its magnificent debut. The premiere event was completely sold out, drawing over 8,000 runners from 36 nations. Among them, 4,200 ambitious marathoners set out to complete a full, single-loop circuit of Austria’s famous turquoise lake. Blessed with crisp autumn air and ideal racing weather, the day produced spectacular local storylines, but none shone brighter than the elite women’s field.

The defining moment of the day belonged to Klagenfurt native Barbara Bischof. Crossing the finish line at the Strandbad Klagenfurt lido, Bischof captured the first-place crown in a blistering personal best time of 2:54:21. The victory was an emotional home sweep for the local favorite, who was visibly overwhelmed by the achievement.

Bischof’s race execution was a masterclass in determination. The Wörthersee course profile presents a tale of two distinct halves: a notoriously hilly southern shore via Reifnitz for the first 21 kilometers, followed by a flat, high-speed northern stretch back from Velden through Pörtschach and Krumpendorf. For the grueling first half, Bischof ran shoulder-to-shoulder with her fiercest competitor from Hungary, trading strides and testing each other’s pacing.

As the course leveled out heading past Velden, Bischof made her decisive tactical move. Trusting her training, she surged ahead to establish a critical gap. Though she later admitted that the closing miles required an immense amount of physical suffering, the deafening cheers of the home crowd carried her through the final stretch. “I could cry with joy. I am absolutely overwhelmed,” Bischof shared after cementing her legacy as the event’s historic first female champion.

Finishing in a strong second place was Hungary’s Luca Gázsity, who crossed the line with an impressive time of 2:57:10. Gázsity was instrumental in setting the race’s elite tempo, pushing Bischof through the early, technical hills on the south side of Lake Wörthersee. Despite losing touch with the leader in the final third of the race, Gázsity held her form beautifully on the flat, fast asphalt roads to secure a well-deserved runner-up position.

The third step on the absolute podium went to Austria’s Vanessa Setz, who successfully broke the elusive three-hour barrier. Setz crossed the timing mats in 2:59:35, pacing her race methodically to hold off late-charging rivals. Her performance rounded out a fantastic day for Austrian distance running, placing two local athletes in the top three.

The depth of the international field was on full display as the remaining positions in the top five were decided. Taking fourth place overall was another standout Hungarian competitor, Koronika Judit, who crossed the line in 3:04:36. Judit ran a highly structured and lonely race for much of the second half, managing the windy lakeside straits successfully to protect her top-five positioning.

The tight competition across the board emphasized the elite nature of the premiere field, as the women managed the heavy muscular toll inflicted by the race’s challenging early elevations.

The inaugural Wörthersee Marathon established itself immediately as a gold-standard event on the World Athletics calendar. Organized under the strategic guidance of the VCM Group and regional partners, the event successfully blended elite athletic competition with the natural scenery of the Carinthian landscape. Thousands of spectators packed the fan zones in the surrounding lakeside towns, turning the closed roads into a giant festival of cheers, music, and community pride.

For champion Barbara Bischof, it was the greatest running day of her life. For the organizers and the thousands of finishers who collected their medals at the lido, the event’s glänzende Premiere laid the foundation for what is destined to become an iconic autumn tradition in European distance running.