Beyond the stopwatch — Nadir Maguet
WORDS → Francesca Robasto
Pics → Gianluca Vanzetta
DATE → 2026-09-09
Nadir Maguet, La Sportiva athlete, recounts his second record attempt on the Matterhorn—held by Kilian Jornet.
There are mountains you simply cannot look at from your window without them trapping your thoughts. For Nadir Maguet, raised in Torgnon in the Valtournenche, the Matterhorn has always been there: an imposing and inescapable presence that defines the horizon and the imagination of an entire community. As a boy in the Aosta Valley, he grew up with the legend of Bruno Brunod and his incredible dash to the cross and back. Then, in 2013, Kilian Jornet arrived to set that staggering time of 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 2 seconds. Nadir was there, having climbed along the route with his father to watch him pass; he was twenty years old and did not yet possess the maturity or awareness of someone who would one day attempt to challenge that very same stopwatch.
In the following years, through a journey of athletic and mountaineering growth marked by fast-and-light records—from Gran Paradiso to Piz Bernina and the Grandes Jorasses—the decision to attempt an assault on the Gran Becca matured as a natural progression. After an initial test against Kilian’s times in 2021, a first attempt in 2023, and a two-year summer period marred by injuries, on July 22, 2026, Maguet returned to the foot of the Lion Ridge for his second official attempt. It was a complex preparation, because the Matterhorn is not a race with a defined course and fixed dates: it is a 4,478-meter mountain where a sudden storm or a temperature shift can change everything within hours. Planning such a performance means living in constant anticipation of a perfect weather window, which sometimes offers only one viable week in an entire summer. This year, following the rigors of the Lavaredo Ultra Trail in June, the opportunity suddenly opened up in early July, requiring a complex organizational, logistical, and safety machine to be synchronized in just two days.
Choosing the exact day was perhaps one of the most nerve-wracking aspects of the entire journey for Nadir.
Until two or three days before, forecasts at those altitudes remain uncertain, turning the wait into a potential source of stress capable of draining mental energy even before putting on running shoes. Attempting a record on a sharp, technical ridge inevitably means coming to terms with risk acceptance, especially on the descent. In his first attempt in 2023, Nadir had managed to gain five minutes on Kilian during the descent; this time, reaching the summit slightly behind his idealized schedule, he experienced a moment of hesitation before plunging back down toward the valley. No longer twenty—he is now thirty-three—his mind evaluates exposure and danger with a different weight. Despite having clocked an extraordinary split to the Carrel Hut, recovering three minutes, the realization that the overall gap was now insurmountable led him to pull the brakes in the second half of the descent. No useless gambles, no forcing it on terrain that does not forgive: when the time is set and there is no margin to overturn the verdict of the stopwatch.
What remains of this challenge, with a cool head and the serenity of someone who feels they have come full circle, goes far beyond the numbers. Initially born as a purely performance-based goal, the project transformed over the years into a dream shared by an entire region. There was coordinated teamwork behind this attempt: from the invaluable guidance of Matterhorn experts like François Cazzanelli and Marco Camandona for high-altitude safety management, to the synchronicity of a micro-team consisting of a coach, nutritionist, trainer, and a mental coach with whom Nadir has worked for months. This fundamental rapport with the staff is based first and foremost on friendship and the ability to share even the most intimate and personal aspects of daily life, which can influence an athlete’s performance far more than a simple training plan. The technical side also saw personalized development with La Sportiva: more than just a choice of minimal apparel with a t-shirt and shorts and the precautionary use of a helmet on the ridge for rockfall protection, the athlete worked on fine-tuning footwear made specifically for the Matterhorn, derived from Talento Pro prototypes with custom details. This adventure will also result in a documentary film produced with La Sportiva, designed as a profound narrative of a human story and a collective dream.
The emotional impact of such a feat is also measured in the intimacy of one’s closest loved ones. For Nadir, seeing the worry in his parents’ eyes before the start or hearing his grandmother’s ironic and tender anecdote—who two weeks earlier warned him not to go on the Matterhorn because “the mountains are crumbling”—makes one realize how thin the line is between a sporting gesture and real life. The apprehension of loved ones is a powerful variable to contend with, but their unconditional support was the true drive to face everything with his head held high. Although the stopwatch did not beat Kilian’s mark, the feeling at the finish was one of complete inner fulfillment. While the first time regret and stress had left physical and mental toxins, this time Nadir faced the day with a smile on his face. Now the focus shifts to the upcoming challenges on the competitive calendar, starting with the CCC at the UTMB at the end of August. The Matterhorn chapter, faced openly and dreamed of with eyes wide open, thus finds its natural conclusion. What remains is the story of an athlete who matured through exposure to the mountain face, capable of measuring himself against the absolute limits of the discipline without losing the ability to listen to his own emotions and the people around him.
