Matthias Kyburz
Swiss athlete
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Matthias Kyburz (born 5 March 1990) is a Swiss long-distance runner who competes in the marathon, and a former world champion in international orienteering.[3][4] On 7 April 2024 Kyburz ran 2:07:44 in his Marathon debut, becoming the third fastest Swiss athlete of all time over the distance after Tadesse Abraham and his coach Viktor Röthlin, and achieving the qualifying standard for the 2024 Olympic Games.[5] In the Olympic marathon, Kyburz finished in 30th place.[6] In orienteering, Kyburz has won eight gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships, making him the fourth most successful male orienteer in history by number of gold medals won at world championships at the time of his retirement in 2025.[7]
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Kyburz competing at the 2024 Summer Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 5 March 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Orienteering Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Marathon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club |
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| Coached by | Viktor Röthlin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal bests |
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Medal record
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Career
Orienteering
Kyburz won a bronze medal in the Long Distance at the 2008 Junior World Orienteering Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden before achieving his only gold medal in the Sprint distance in 2009, and a bronze medal in his last year of eligibility in 2010. Following this, Kyburz took two years to win his first gold medal in the World Championships, winning the sprint distance at the 2012 World Orienteering Championships in Lausanne, ahead of Matthias Merz and Matthias Müller.[8]
Following his 2012 success in the Sprint, Kyburz became an important competitor on the world stage, an all round orienteer with the ability to win any of the three individual orienteering disciplines. This has allowed him to win the Orienteering World Cup on six occasions: 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2023. For eleven years in a row (2008 to 2018) one of the two Swiss orienteers Matthias Kyburz or Daniel Hubmann won the Orienteering World Cup.
Kyburz has won eight World Orienteering Championships gold medals in five different disciplines: Sprint (2012, Lausanne), Sprint Relay (2014, Trentino), Knock Out Sprint (2022, Vejle), Relay (2015, Inverness and 2023, Flims-Laax) and Middle (2016, Strömstad, 2021, Doksy and 2023, Flims-Laax).
Kyburz has also won European Orienteering Championships gold medals in five different disciplines: Relay (2012), Sprint Relay (2021), Sprint (2016, 2018 and 2023), Knock Out Sprint (2021 and 2023), and Middle (2016 and 2018). Kyburz has won eight World Games medals of which three were gold in Cali 2013, one of each color at The World Games 2017, and a gold and a silver in 2022.
2023 was the best season for Kyburz, where he won the 2023 Orienteering World Cup, two gold medals and one silver medal at the 2023 World Orienteering Championships, and two gold medals and one silver medal at the European Orienteering Championships.
Following the introduction of the Knock-out sprint format in the 2021 orienteering season, Kyburz won every international event in the format until 2023, including in the 2021 European Orienteering Championships, the 2022 Orienteering World Cup and 2022 World Orienteering Championships, and the 2023 European Orienteering Championships.
Kyburz was not present at the 2024 World Orienteering Championships due to a focus on the 2024 Summer Olympics. Kyburz retired from international orienteering following the 2025 Orienteering World Cup final.[9]
Athletics
Kyburz attained the world record in 50 km on a treadmill of 2:56:35 on 16 April 2020, breaking a record held by Florian Neuschwander.[10][11] On 26 July 2020, Kyburz broke the course record in the K43-M category at the Swiss Alpine Marathon by 10 minutes, over 42.7 kilometers and 1324 meters of climb.[12][13][5] Kyburz also won the Bern Grand Prix over 10 miles in 2022.[5]
In around 2014, a sports doctor reportedly told Kyburz following a performance test that his test results were optimal for marathon running. The same doctor also had former World Championship bronze medallist Viktor Röthlin on his list of patients, and apparently told Röthlin that there was an orienteering competitor that had better results than either Röthlin or Tadesse Abraham.[5] Following a successful 2023 orienteering season, Kyburz called Röthlin and asked Röthlin to coach him for the 2024 Paris Marathon in an attempt to beat the Olympic qualifying time.[5]
In 2024, during his preparation for the Paris Marathon, Kyburz won the Swiss Championships in the Half Marathon in a time of 1:02:25, breaking his personal best by six minutes.[4]
On 7 April 2024 Kyburz finished 7th in the Paris Marathon in a time of 2:07:44, within the qualification standard of 2:08:10 for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.[14]
On 9 June 2024, Kyburz came 21st at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in the half marathon in Rome in a time of 1:03:07.[15]
In the Olympic Marathon, Kyburz finished in 30th place.[6]
In 2025, Kyburz overtook his coach Viktor Röthlin as the second fastest Swiss in the marathon, with a time of 2:06:48 at the Sevilla Marathon.[16] On 2 November, Kyburz came fifth in the 2025 New York City Marathon in a time of 2:09:55.[17]
Personal life
His brother, Andreas Kyburz, is also an international orienteering competitor.[18] Kyburz has a child with fellow orienteer Sarina born in January 2024.[5] As of 2017, Kyburz lived in Möhlin.[1]
Orienteering results
World Championship results
| Year | |||||||
| Age | Long | Middle | Sprint | Relay | Sprint Relay |
Knock Out Sprint | |
| 2011 | 21 | — | — | 20 | — | N/a | N/a |
| 2012 | 22 | 19 | — | 1 | — | N/a | N/a |
| 2013 | 23 | — | 4 | 5 | 4 | N/a | N/a |
| 2014 | 24 | 5 | — | 5 | 2 | 1 | N/a |
| 2015 | 25 | 6 | 40 | — | 1 | 4 | N/a |
| 2016 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | N/a |
| 2017 | 27 | DSQ | 10 | 4 | 5 | — | N/a |
| 2018 | 28 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 2 | — | N/a |
| 2019 | 29 | 4 | 18 | N/a | — | N/a | N/a |
| 2021 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | — | N/a |
| 2022 | 32 | N/a | N/a | 7 | N/a | 4 | 1 |
| 2023 | 33 | 2 | 1 | N/a | 1 | N/a | N/a |
| 2024 | 34 | 2024 Summer Olympics; did not compete | |||||
| 2025 | 35 | 3 | 4 | N/a | 2 | N/a | N/a |
World Cup victories
| No. | Date | Venue | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 June 2011 |  Porvoo | Sprint |
| 2 | 23 June 2012 |  St. Gallen | Middle Distance |
| 3 | 14 July 2012 | Lausanne | Sprint (WOC) |
| 4 | 4 September 2012 |  Gothenburg | Knock-Out Sprint |
| 5 | 8 September 2012 | Vuokatti | Middle Distance (p) |
| 6 | 7 January 2013 |  Wellington | Sprint |
| 7 | 1 June 2013 |  Oslo | Sprint |
| 8 | 7 June 2013 | Turku | Sprint |
| 9 | 6 October 2013 | Baden | Sprint |
| 10 | 3 January 2015 |  Tasmania | Sprint |
| 11 | 10 January 2015 | Tasmania | Long Distance |
| 12 | 4 June 2015 | Halden | Long Distance |
| 13 | 1 May 2016 |  Wrocław | Long Distance |
| 14 | 22 May 2016 |  Jeseník | Sprint (EOC) |
| 15 | 27 May 2016 | Jeseník | Middle Distance (EOC) |
| 16 | 23 August 2016 | Tanum | Middle Distance (EOC) |
| 17 | 15 October 2016 | Aarau | Long Distance |
| 18 | 29 September 2017 | Grindelwald | Long Distance |
| 19 | 30 September 2017 | Grindelwald | Middle Distance |
| 20 | 6 May 2018 | Ticino | Sprint |
| 21 | 9 May 2018 | Tessin | Middle Distance |
| 22 | 15 May 2021 | Neuchâtel | Knock-Out Sprint (EOC) |
| 23 | 28 May 2022 | Borås | Knock-Out Sprint |
| 24 | 4 October 2023 |  Verona | Sprint |
| 25 | 8 October 2023 | Verona | Knock-Out Sprint |
- (p) = pursuit
