San Fermín 2022: The Running of the Bulls
July 6 to 14, 2022. The fiesta returns after two cancelled years. Every encierro, every ganadería, every video, and the stories the numbers leave out.
Curated by Dennis Clancey
· Founder of Encierro, veteran bull runner
8
Encierros
6
Gored by horn
2:14
Fastest run
0
Deaths
more than 1,707,000
Participants
What 2022 Was Really Like
Dennis Clancey · Founder, Encierro
Three years. That is how long it had been. Standing in Pamplona in July 2022, the city felt like it was exhaling for the first time since 2019. Everyone who came back that year. The regulars, the first-timers who had bought tickets for 2020 and waited, ran with something extra. The energy in Santo Domingo on the 7th was unlike anything I can compare it to. You could feel 1,089 days of anticipation in the crowd.
Most of the week was genuinely clean. Six runs came and went without the kind of drama that makes headlines. The Victoriano del Río run on the 13th was a thing of beauty: compact herd, two minutes fourteen seconds, the fastest of the week, and no one gored. Then Cebada Gago happened on the 11th and reminded everybody why we respect this route. Three gored in one morning, two of them inside the ring, the bull Marismeño making contact twice in the arena. That is the encierro. One morning changes the whole picture.
Dennis Clancey, Founder of Encierro
2022 in contextThe Return After 1,089 Days
The 2022 San Fermín was the first full fiesta since 2019, following two straight cancellations caused by the pandemic. When the eight bulls ran on 7 July, it had been 1,089 days since any runner had stood in Santo Domingo for a morning start. The city responded: Pamplona recorded more than 1.7 million participants across municipal events, a 20 percent increase over 2019.
Across the eight running of the bulls, six runners were gored by horn. The story of 2022 is not a dangerous year; it is a year with one dangerous morning. The Cebada Gago run on 11 July produced three of the six gorings, two of them inside the bullring. Every other morning was clean or close to it.
The fastest run came on 13 July when Victoriano del Río covered the route in 2 minutes 14 seconds. The slowest was Cebada Gago at 3 minutes 12 seconds, the same morning that produced all the drama. The full year-by-year archive and the 2021 cancellation record put 2022 in its full context.
Six runners gored across eight mornings. One morning: Cebada Gago on the 11th, accounted for half of them, and reminded the route why no encierro is routine.The Official Cartel
Official: “Beti bezala” by Olaia Merino Erviti
“Beti bezala” is Basque for “as always” or “like always.” The title said what everyone in Pamplona was feeling: after two pandemic cancellations, the fiesta was back, like always. The poster was created by Olaia Merino Erviti, a designer from Sarriguren, Navarre (born 1993), and chosen by popular vote with 1,603 votes out of 8,191 valid ballots cast, the highest average daily vote rate in the history of the contest.
The modernist figures in the design celebrate the crowd of San Fermín: people in motion, color, joy, and collective festivity. Merino drew on the aesthetic of 1930s fair posters, viewed through a contemporary lens. She was the third consecutive woman to win the cartel contest, following Adriana Eransus (2018) and Edurne Taínta (2019).
Cartel: “Beti bezala” by Olaia Merino Erviti · Official poster of San Fermín 2022 · Source: Ayuntamiento de Pamplona
Selected as the official poster of Sanfermines 2022 through Pamplona's annual concurso de carteles.
Morning by morningEvery 2022 Encierro, Day by Day
All eight runs with ganadería, time, horn injuries, and the official RTVE video. In 2022 the run was ten meters longer than before, because the runners’ line in Santo Domingo was moved forward toward the corrals; see the route map.
Thu July 7 · First run
Núñez del Cuvillo
2:35
Gored: 0
A fast, clean opener after three years without a run. No gorings. A crush in La Curva and a small pile-up at the arena entrance, but the herd ran together and the first post-pandemic encierro closed without a horn wound.
Fri July 8 · Second run
Fuente Ymbro
3:10
Gored: 0
A long, tense morning: the bull Zalagarda came back out into the arena until the dobladores led him to the corrals. No gorings, but one of the more unsettled runs of the week.
Sat July 9 · Third run
José Escolar
2:30
Gored: 1
A run on wet ground after rain. One runner received a minor horn graze; seven transferred for treatment.
Sun July 10 · Fourth run
La Palmosilla
2:29
Gored: 0
A fast, clean run. No horn wounds; four transferred with minor bruising.
Mon July 11 · Fifth run
Cebada Gago
3:12
Gored: 3
The most dangerous run of the week and the slowest. The bull Marismeño gored two runners inside the arena; a third was gored by Cepillito at the descent of the callejón. Among them, a 22-year-old from San Sebastián took an 18 cm horn wound in the groin in the ring. Six transported to hospital.
Tue July 12 · Sixth run
Jandilla
2:20
Gored: 1
The bull Tonadillero charged three people at the Ayuntamiento without goring them. Mikel Povedano, from Obanos, received a 10 cm horn wound in the left armpit in the callejón.
Wed July 13 · Seventh run
Victoriano del Río
2:14 (fastest)
Gored: 0
The fastest run of San Fermín 2022 at 2 minutes 14 seconds. No gorings; 54 attended and seven transferred to hospital.
The Stories the Numbers Leave Out
The opening
Juan Carlos Unzué Fires the Chupinazo
The former Osasuna and Barcelona goalkeeper, diagnosed with ALS, launched the opening rocket from the Town Hall balcony on July 6. He dedicated the chupinazo to healthcare workers and to everyone living with ALS.
The hardest morning
Cebada Gago: Three Gored in One Run
Monday July 11 was the flashpoint of the week. The bull Marismeño gored two runners simultaneously inside the arena, and a third was gored by Cepillito at the descent of the callejón. 53 people were attended that morning alone. Three of the six gorings recorded all week came on this single morning, from a ranch with one of the most storied records in Pamplona.
The speed record
Victoriano del Río Runs the Fastest Morning of 2022
Wednesday July 13 delivered the fastest run of San Fermín 2022: 2 minutes 14 seconds. No gorings.
Thirteen Years On
The fourth encierro ran on July 10. Daniel Jimeno Romero, 27, of Alcalá de Henares, was killed by the Jandilla bull Capuchino on Telefónica on that date in 2009. It was the 13th anniversary of his death; he was the last person to die in the running of the bulls.
Daniel Jimeno remains the last. Despite the drama of the Cebada Gago run, 2022 added no name to the list of the dead.
Beyond the runThe City in 2022
The chupinazo that opened San Fermín 2022 came at noon on Wednesday, July 6, fired from the Casa Consistorial balcony by Juan Carlos Unzué, the former professional footballer and coach, in the presence of Mayor Enrique Maya. Unzué, who had been diagnosed with ALS, launched the rocket and dedicated it to healthcare workers and to everyone living with ALS. The fiesta ran July 6 to 14 and closed nine nights later with the candlelit Pobre de Mí at midnight.
The year's cartel was “Beti bezala” (“as always” in Basque) by Olaia Merino Erviti of Sarriguren, chosen by public vote. The XXI Concurso Internacional de Fuegos Artificiales de San Fermín was won by Italian pyrotechnician Federico Tibaldi, whose collection “Amígdala Rinascimento”, launched on July 11 from the Ciudadela, earned him the San Fermín de Oro trophy and 5,000 euros. The jury cited the perfection of the shot and the use of space, along with its vivid color changes.
In the world press2022, As the World Saw It
The dominant international angle was the same everywhere: the fiesta returns after two pandemic years. Wire services drove global pickup from the first morning.
AP via Las Vegas Sun, July 7
CNN / Reuters, the return
CBS News, opening day
Euronews, final run
NPR, three gored
VOA News, the return
Gulf News / AFP, chupinazo
Bloomberg, opening run
How 2022 Came Together
The planning dates and key moments of San Fermín 2022, kept on the record.
May 9, 2022
The cartel “Beti bezala” by Olaia Merino Erviti was announced as the winner of the popular vote, with 1,603 of 8,191 valid ballots, a record for average daily votes cast.
Before the fiesta
Assembly of the vallado (encierro fencing): 900 posts and 2,700 planks, fitted each year by the Aldaz Remiro carpenters of Puente la Reina, who have done the work since 1992.
The lineup
Eight ganaderías confirmed: Núñez del Cuvillo, Fuente Ymbro, José Escolar, La Palmosilla, Cebada Gago, Jandilla, Victoriano del Río, and Miura. No debutant ranches: a return of the established roster after two cancelled years.
July 6, 2022
The chupinazo opened the fiesta at noon; Juan Carlos Unzué fired the rocket from the Town Hall balcony. Nine days later, Pobre de Mí closed the fiesta at midnight on July 14.
July 7 to 14, 2022
Eight encierros ran on eight consecutive mornings at 8:00 a.m. Six runners gored by horn. Zero deaths. Fastest run: 2:14. Slowest: 3:12. Participants across municipal events: more than 1.7 million, up 20 percent on 2019.
San Fermín 2022, Answered
How many runners were gored in San Fermín 2022?
Six runners were gored by horn across the eight encierros. Three of those six came in a single morning, the Cebada Gago run on July 11. The other seven mornings produced a combined three horn injuries.
Which ganaderías ran the encierro in 2022?
In order from July 7 to 14: Núñez del Cuvillo, Fuente Ymbro, José Escolar, La Palmosilla, Cebada Gago, Jandilla, Victoriano del Río, and Miura. No ranch debuted in 2022; every ranch in the lineup had prior San Fermín experience. The closest to a newcomer was La Palmosilla, which had first appeared in 2019.
What was the fastest run of 2022?
Victoriano del Río on Wednesday July 13, at 2 minutes 14 seconds. The slowest was Cebada Gago on July 11 at 3 minutes 12 seconds, the same morning that produced the most gorings.
Was anyone killed in the 2022 running of the bulls?
No. The last death in the Pamplona encierro was Daniel Jimeno Romero on July 10, 2009. The 2022 fiesta was the 13th consecutive year without a fatality in the run.
Why was San Fermín 2022 significant?
It was the first full fiesta and the first encierros since 2019. The 2020 and 2021 San Fermín festivals were both cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, making 2022 the return after 1,089 days without a run. The city recorded more than 1.7 million participants across municipal events, a 20 percent increase over 2019. To understand how runners prepare for the encierro, see our guide to running with the bulls.
Who fired the chupinazo in 2022?
Juan Carlos Unzué, the former professional footballer and goalkeeper-coach (Osasuna, Barcelona) who had been publicly diagnosed with ALS. Unzué launched the rocket from the Town Hall balcony at noon on July 6, with Mayor Enrique Maya beside him, dedicating it to healthcare workers and to all people living with ALS.
Sources
Every fact on this page is checked against these sources. Where sources disagreed, the one closest to the day won.
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "Beti bezala de Olaia Merino Erviti anunciara las fiestas de San Fermin 2022", 2022-05-09. pamplona.es
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "El Ayuntamiento de Pamplona edita un 'periódico' con información del encierro", 2022-07-01. pamplona.es
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "Chupinazo de Juan Carlos Unzue dedicado a sanitarios y personas con ELA (news note)", 2022-07-06. pamplona.es
- Onda Vasca, "Parte de heridos del séptimo encierro de San Fermín con toros de Victoriano del Río", 2022-07-13. ondavasca.com
- Euronews, "Six injured on last day of Spain's running of the bulls", 2022-07-14. euronews.com
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "La participación en los actos organizados estos Sanfermines se incrementa un 20% con respecto a los de 2019", 2022-07-15. pamplona.es
- Noticias de Navarra, "Resumen de los encierros de San Fermin 2022: los cebadita rompen el dicho de carrera rapida y limpia", 2022-07-16. noticiasdenavarra.com
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "El jurado otorga el primer premio del XXI Concurso Internacional de Fuegos Artificiales a la colección de Federico Tibaldi", 2022-07-18. pamplona.es
Planning your own run?
2022 was the return. For what happened next, see San Fermín 2023, or learn the route the way active runners teach it.