2022 Spartan World Championship Recap: Webster Becomes First Four-Time World Champion, Atkins Dethroned
After an insanely epic, inaugural Abu Dhabi Spartan World Championship in 2021, where power couple Ryan Atkins and Lindsay Webster swept the first-place podiums at the Elite Beast 21K event, we returned to the UAE for a second time to do it even bigger.
At the 2022 Spartan World Championship, hosted by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, thousands of Spartans from 85 different countries across the globe flocked to Al Wathba, a luxury desert resort and spa just 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi, to tackle monstrous sand dunes beneath an open sky and — for some — a setting sun that rippled the horizon with a rainbow of colors as some of the world's greatest were crossing the finish line.
The first-ever Trifecta Weekend in Abu Dhabi was complete with our most mind-blowing festival of the year (and possibly EVER), the culturally-immersive Parade of Nations, Open Sprints, Supers (and team Supers), Beasts, and Kids races, the Age Group World Championship Beast, and even a 3K team-based World Championship, allowing an inclusive experience for the entire Spartan community.
Related: The 2023 Spartan Race Schedule: Dates, Details, Venues, and More
But how did the Elites perform, and how did they stack up against our expert podium picks (men's and women's) for this year's Championship? Watch live coverage from the Elite Super 10K on Saturday, where the athletes competed for $125,000 in total prize money, and read on for results from that race, along with the 3K Team World Championship on Sunday.
2022 Spartan World Championship Super 10K Results
Women's Field
To no one's surprise, the greatest Spartan racer of all time, Lindsay Webster, took the first-place podium in Saturday's Super race. This win — at a time of 1:12:49 — is not only a personal milestone for Webster (it's the fourth World Championship title on her race resume), but she also made Spartan history with the most consecutive wins of all time (17). The GOAT also hasn't lost a Spartan race she's competed in since September 2019.
Eszter Hortobágyiová followed Webster, finishing in 1:14:52, and Alisa Petrova, who completed last year's Championship Beast in 2:43:47 to earn third place behind Annie Dube (2:41:22), held her place on the leaderboard in 2022's contest, completing the Super in 1:15:19.
- Lindsay Webster - 1:12:49
- Eszter Hortobágyiová - 1:14:52
- Alisa Petrova - 1:15:19
Men's Field
Ryan Atkins earned his first World Championship title in 2021 with a Beast finishing time of 2:13:40, beating out Sergei Perelygin, who finished just 32 seconds behind. This year, Perelygin, who has three Spartan Regional Championship titles to his name — Middle East-North Africa (2017), Europe (2018), and Asia-Pacific (2018) — along with nearly 20 career podiums in the desert terrain found in the UAE, Oman, Bavarian, and Qatar (one might say he was well prepared), returned with a vengeance to dethrone the reigning champion and take first place with a time of 1:03:47 on the 10K course.
Atkins crossed the finish in 1:03:59, followed by Jeremie Gatchet a few minutes later (1:06:49).
- Sergei Perelygin - 1:03:47
- Ryan Atkins - 1:03:59
- Jeremie Gatchet - 1:06:49
For the remainder of the men's and women's World Championship Super 10K results, view the official race results online.
2022 Spartan Team World Championship 3K Results
Following several test events throughout the 2022 race season, the new 3K race format — similar to Spartan Games' Spartan Cross — was in full swing at Sunday's Team World Championship event. Twenty-two co-ed Elite teams, collectively representing over a dozen countries, fought hard through the three, 1,000-meter loops featuring 10-12 obstacles each, including the new Laser Pistol obstacle, a feature part of the Olympic Modern Pentathlon event.
In the end, the United States-affiliated team, American Muscle, took the win. Consisting of North American Elite Series great Veejay Jones, North American Regional champion from Kelowna and DEKA master Rylan Schadegg, and World's Toughest Mudder Record Holder (AND Hyrox World Champion) Kris Rugloski, the absolutely STACKED team conquered Sunday's race in just 19:46.
For the remainder of the Elite 3K Team World Championship results, view the official race results online.
