France's Blandine L'Hirondel won the women's race at the Trail World Championships ©IAAF/Twitter

France dominated the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) and International Trail Running Association (ITRA) Trail World Championships by picking up three of the four gold medals on offer.

Some 411 athletes – 186 women and 233 men – took on the course in Miranda do Corvo, Portugal.

They ran and hiked more than 45 kilometres on muddy and rocky surfaces, making 2,120 metres of climbs and 1,970m of descents.

Great Britain's Jon Albon won the men's event in Portugal on Saturday ©British Athletics/Twitter
Great Britain's Jon Albon won the men's event in Portugal on Saturday ©British Athletics/Twitter

France's Blandine L'Hirondel won the women's race in four hours six minutes and 15 seconds, ahead of New Zealand's Ruth Croft and Spain's Sheila Avilés.

The French also won team gold in the men's and women's events.

Britain's Jon Albon took top spot in the men's individual, clocking 3:35:34.

France had to settle for silver, with Julien Rancon second behind Albon, while Switzerland's Christian Mathys completed the podium.