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World Orienteering Championships

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World Orienteering Championships
Sprint event at WOC 2013 in Vuokatti, Finland
Statusactive
Genresporting event
Date(s)July–August
Frequencyannual
Location(s)various
Inaugurated1966
Previous event2024
Next event2025
Organised byIOF

The World Orienteering Championships (often abbreviated as WOC) is an international orienteering competition which has been organized by the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) since 1966. The World Orienteering Championships is considered to be the most prestigious competition in competitive orienteering.[1] The races are contested between members of the IOF, which are each aligned to a National Olympic Committee.

The first world championships in orienteering was held in Fiskars, Finland from 1–2 October 1966, with two medal events being contested. The championships were held biennially up to 2003, with the exception of the 1978 and 1979 editions. From 2003 to 2021, all medal competitions were held annually, before an alternating biennial system between two different championship formats was implemented starting at the 2022 World Orienteering Championships.

In 1966, there were only two medal events, with one individual event and one team relay event. The world championships now include medal events for six formats, including four individual medal events and two team medal events.

History

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First championships, 1961-1966

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The IOF was founded on 21 May 1961 at a Congress held in Copenhagen, Denmark by the orienteering national federations of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.[2] This led to the first official international orienteering competition under the IOF, the 1962 European Orienteering Championships in Løten, Norway. The competition consisted only of an individual race, but two years later at the 1964 European Championships (held in Le Brassus, Switzerland), a relay event was added to the competition program. These two European championships became the template for the first World Orienteering Championships in 1966.

11 different nations participated in the 1966 World Orienteering Championships, all of them from Europe, including all founding members of the IOF except for West Germany along with teams from Great Britain and Austria.[3] The gold medal for the men's individual race went to Åge Hadler from Norway, and the women's winner was Ulla Lindkvist from Sweden.[4]

Early championships, 1967-1990

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At the 1968 World Orienteering Championships, Swedish Television (SVT) broadcast the individual competition live, which was the first TV broadcast of orienteering in Sweden[5] and worldwide.[6] The first ever competitor at the World Championships from outside of Europe was Robert Kaill from Canada, who participated at the 1970 World Orienteering Championships but was unable to complete the course.[7]

In 1972, Sarolta Monspart from Hungary became the first person from outside of the Nordic countries to win a gold medal at the World Championships or the European Championships. In 1985, the championships were held outside of Europe for the first time, with the races being hosted by Australia; the championships have only been hosted outside of Europe three times, those times being Australia in 1985, the United States in 1993 and Japan in 2005.

Annichen Kringstad from Sweden set a record of winning six gold medals in a row at the championships from 1981 to 1985, winning all available gold medals in that time and being awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1981. This record would hold until it was broken by fellow Swede Tove Alexandersson, who won eleven gold medals in a row and was the second orienteer to win the Svenska Dagbladet award. In the men's class, Norway's Øyvin Thon won seven gold medals from 1979 to 1989, and remains one of the most accomplished orienteers by number of gold medals at the championships despite the increase in number of available medals since his retirement.

Addition of middle and sprint distances, 1991-2002

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In 1991, a short-distance race (roughly 20–25 minutes) was added. 1991 also saw the first gold medal for Switzerland at the world championships, as the relay team of Thomas Bührer, Alain Berger, Urs Flühmann and Christian Aebersold won ahead of Norway and Finland. Switzerland has since become the third most successful nation by number of gold medals, behind only Sweden and Norway.

A sprint race (roughly 12–18 minutes) was added in 2001, with a focus on urban and park areas rather than navigation over rough terrain. Sprint orienteering has since become a popular discipline, with several derivatives being added to the championships since the introduction of the sprint, and many differences between sprint orienteering and forest orienteering, including different mapping standards and different footwear and clothing requirements.

Annual championships, 2003-2018

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A range of format changes commenced in 2003, with the championships becoming an annual competition. The middle distance (roughly 30–35 minutes) replaced the short distance, and the number of relay legs was decreased from four to three. With the format changes, the number of medal events for both genders more than doubled from three per year in 1999 to eight per year in 2003.

The period from 2003 onwards was dominated by Simone Niggli-Luder from Switzerland in women's orienteering and Thierry Gueorgiou from France in men's orienteering, and the two remain the most decorated orienteers for each gender. Gueorgiou has contributed to all 14 of France's gold medals at the World Championships, while Niggli-Luder remains the most decorated orienteer from either gender with 23 gold medals. Niggli-Luder won her first gold medal in 2001 and retired in 2013, while Gueorgiou won his first medal in 2003 and retired in 2017.

In 2006, Hanny Allston from Australia became the first person from outside of Europe to win a gold medal in the world championships, and the first orienteer to win a gold medal in both the World Orienteering Championships and Junior World Orienteering Championships in the same year.

In 2014, a sprint relay was added with two men and two women participating and with starting order woman-man-man-woman.

Alternating biennial system, 2019-

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In 2019, the World Orienteering Championships was split into two events: Sprint WOC (even-numbered years) consisting of sprint events only, and Forest WOC (odd-numbered years) consisting of forest events only.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the first Sprint WOC in 2020 was cancelled. Instead, the sprint and sprint relay disciplines were added to the championships program in 2021, as without this alteration there would not have been sprint competitions in the world championships for four years (2018-2022).

In 2018, Tove Alexandersson from Sweden started a winning streak in the world championships that lasted until 2022. During this time, Alexandersson won a record eleven gold medals in a row, and won all five gold medals available at the 2021 World Orienteering Championships, which remains the record for the number of gold medals won in a single year.

In 2022 the first sprint only WOC was organized in Denmark, and the new competition format Knockout Sprint made its debut.

In 2023, Daniel Hubmann from Switzerland set a record as the oldest orienteer to win a gold medal at the World Championships, at the age of 40 years and 61 days.

Format

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The competition format has changed several times. From the beginning in 1966, the World Championships consisted of only two competitions: an individual race and a relay. In 1991, a short-distance race (roughly 20–25 minutes) was added and a sprint race was added in 2001. The middle distance (roughly 30–35 minutes) replaced the short distance in 2003. On IOF's 23rd congress in Lausanne in 2012, it was decided that a sprint relay event would be added in the 2014 World Championships in Italy.[8] The sprint relay is competed in urban areas and consists of four-orienteer mixed-gender teams with starting order woman-man-man-woman. A knock-out sprint format was added in 2022.

Current competition format

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The current championship events are:

Forest WOC (odd years)
Distance Target Time Notes
Long distance 90 min Previously called classic distance
Middle distance 30–35 min Replaced short distance (20–25 min) in 2003
Relay 3 × 40 min Three-person teams
Sprint WOC (even years)
Distance Target Time Notes
Sprint 12–15 min
Knock-out sprint 5–8 min First held in 2022
Sprint relay 4 × 12–15 min Four-person teams, two men and two women.

Event timeline

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Editions

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  • 1966-2003: Biannual (1-21) except 1978 and 1979
  • 2004-Ongoing: Annual (22-Ongoing)
  • 2020: Not Held
# Year Dates Location[9] Events
Biannual
1 1966 1–2 October Finland Fiskars, Finland[10] 4
2 1968 28–29 September Sweden Linköping, Sweden[11] 4
3 1970 27–29 September East Germany Friedrichroda, East Germany[12] 4
4 1972 14–16 September Czechoslovakia Staré Splavy, Czechoslovakia[13] 4
5 1974 20–22 September Denmark Viborg, Denmark[14] 4
6 1976 24–26 September United Kingdom Aviemore, United Kingdom[15] 4
7 1978 15–17 September Norway Kongsberg, Norway[16] 4
8 1979 2–4 September Finland Tampere, Finland[17] 4
9 1981 4–6 September Switzerland Thun, Switzerland[18] 4
10 1983 1–4 September Hungary Zalaegerszeg, Hungary[19] 4
11 1985 4–6 September Australia Bendigo, Australia[20] 4
12 1987 3–5 September France Gérardmer, France[21] 4
13 1989 17–20 August Sweden Skövde, Sweden[22] 4
14 1991 21–25 August Czechoslovakia Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia[23] 6
15 1993 9–14 October United States West Point, United States[24] 6
16 1995 15–20 August Germany Detmold, Germany[25] 6
17 1997 11–16 August Norway Grimstad, Norway[26] 6
18 1999 1–8 August United Kingdom Inverness, United Kingdom[27] 6
20 2001 29 July – 4 August Finland Tampere, Finland[28] 8
21 2003 3–9 August Switzerland Rapperswil/Jona, Switzerland[29] 8
Annual
22 2004 11–19 September Sweden Västerås, Sweden[30] 8
23 2005 9–15 August Japan Aichi, Japan[31] 8
24 2006 1–5 August Denmark Århus, Denmark[32] 8
25 2007 18–26 August Ukraine Kyiv, Ukraine[33] 8
26 2008 10–20 July Czech Republic Olomouc, Czech Republic[34] 8
27 2009 16–23 August Hungary Miskolc, Hungary[35] 8
28 2010 8–15 August Norway Trondheim, Norway[36] 8
29 2011 13–20 August France Savoie, France[37] 8
30 2012 14–22 July Switzerland Lausanne, Switzerland[38] 8
31 2013 6–14 July Finland Vuokatti, Finland[39] 8
32 2014 5–13 July Italy Trentino-Veneto, Italy[40] 9
33 2015 1–7 August United Kingdom Inverness, United Kingdom[41] 9
34 2016 20–28 August ] Sweden Strömstad-Tanum, Sweden[42] 9
35 2017 1–7 July Estonia Tartu, Estonia[43] 9
36 2018 4–11 August Latvia Riga, Latvia[44] 9
Alternating
37 2019 13–17 August Norway Østfold, Norway[45] 6
- 2020 Cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic Denmark Triangle Region, Denmark -
38 2021 4–9 July Czech Republic Doksy, Czech Republic [46] 9
39 2022 26—30 June Denmark Triangle Region, Denmark 5
40 2023 11—16 July Switzerland Graubünden, Switzerland[47] 6
41 2024 12–16 July United Kingdom Edinburgh, United Kingdom 5
42 2025 23–29 July Finland Kuopio, Finland[47]
43 2026 6—11 July Italy Genova, Italy[48]
44 2027 14—18 July Hungary Veszprém, Hungary[49]
45 2028 26—30 April Spain Girona, Spain[50] [51] [52]

Multiple winners

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Men

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Main article: List of World Orienteering Championships medalists (men)

Boldface denotes active athletes and highest medal count among all athletes (including these who not included in these tables) per type. Updated after the 2024 World Orienteering Championships.

Rank Athlete From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 France Thierry Gueorgiou 2003 2017 14 5 4 23
2 Norway Olav Lundanes 2010 2019 10 4 3 17
3 Switzerland Daniel Hubmann 2005 2023 9 11 9 29
4 Switzerland Matthias Kyburz 2012 2023 8 6 1 15
5 Norway Øyvin Thon 1979 1989 7 1 0 8
6 Russia Andrey Khramov 2005 2015 6 4 3 13
7 Sweden Gustav Bergman 2012 2023 5 4 5 14
8 Norway Petter Thoresen 1989 1997 5 1 2 8
9 Russia Valentin Novikov 2004 2013 4 5 2 11
10 Norway Bjørnar Valstad 1991 2004 4 3 3 10
11 Norway Tore Sagvolden 1979 1987 4 3 1 8
12 Sweden Rolf Pettersson 1972 1979 4 2 0 6
13 Sweden Jonas Leandersson 2012 2018 4 0 3 7
14 Norway Morten Berglia 1981 1987 4 0 1 5
Norway Jørgen Rostrup 1999 2005 4 0 1 5
16 Switzerland Thomas Bührer 1991 2003 4 0 0 4
17 Norway Kasper Harlem Fosser 2019 2024 3 4 2 9
18 Norway Magne Dæhli 2012 2019 3 2 2 7
19 Norway Egil Johansen 1976 1979 3 2 0 5
20 Sweden Emil Wingstedt 2003 2007 3 1 3 7
21 Sweden Bernt Frilén 1970 1974 3 1 1 5
22 Denmark Søren Bobach 2014 2016 3 1 0 4
23 Norway Eskil Kinneberg 2017 2021 3 1 0 4
24 Norway Åge Hadler 1966 1972 3 0 3 6
25 Sweden Emil Svensk 2018 2024 3 0 2 5
26 Switzerland Christian Aebersold 1991 1995 3 0 0 3
Sweden Arne Johansson 1972 1976 3 0 0 3
Sweden Karl Johansson 1966 1970 3 0 0 3
29 Sweden Jörgen Mårtensson 1981 1997 2 6 2 10
30 Finland Jani Lakanen 1999 2013 2 5 1 8
31 Finland Janne Salmi 1995 2001 2 4 1 7
32 Norway Carl Godager Kaas 2010 2016 2 4 0 6

Women

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Main article: List of World Orienteering Championships medalists (women)

Boldface denotes active athletes and highest medal count among all athletes (including these who not included in these tables) per type. Updated after 2024 World Orienteering Championships.

Rank Athlete From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Switzerland Simone Niggli-Luder 2001 2013 23 2 6 31
2 Sweden Tove Alexandersson 2011 2024 21 9 3 33
3 Finland Minna Kauppi 2004 2013 9 5 3 17
4 Denmark Maja Alm 2012 2021 7 7 3 17
5 Sweden Marita Skogum 1983 1993 6 3 1 10
6 Sweden Annichen Kringstad 1981 1985 6 0 0 6
7 Switzerland Judith Wyder 2011 2018 5 3 4 12
8 Sweden Helena Bergman 2012 2018 4 6 8 18
9 Norway Hanne Staff 1997 2004 4 4 4 12
10 Finland Liisa Veijalainen 1972 1981 4 4 0 8
11 Sweden Karin Rabe 1978 1989 4 3 2 9
12 Sweden Arja Hannus 1981 1991 4 1 0 5
13 RussiaSwitzerland Natalia Gemperle 2016 2024 3 7 6 16
14 Norway Anne Margrethe Hausken 2005 2016 3 5 3 11
15 Sweden Annika Billstam 2007 2015 3 3 8 14
16 Finland Heli Jukkola 2003 2007 3 3 2 8
17 Sweden Ulla Lindkvist 1966 1972 3 3 0 6
18 Finland Merja Rantanen 2008 2017 3 1 4 8
19 Switzerland Vroni König-Salmi 1997 2008 3 1 3 7
20 Sweden Marlena Jansson 1991 1999 3 1 2 6
21 Sweden Anna Bogren 1993 1997 3 1 1 5
Sweden Lina Strand 2016 2022 3 1 1 5
23 Sweden Sara Hagström 2021 2023 3 0 0 3
24 Switzerland Simona Aebersold 2019 2024 2 6 5 13
25 Sweden Karolina A. Højsgaard 2003 2009 2 5 1 8
26 Denmark Ida Bobach 2011 2016 2 4 0 6
27 Sweden Kristin Cullman 1974 1978 2 3 0 5
28 Sweden Gunilla Svärd 1997 2004 2 2 2 6
29 Finland Outi Borgenström 1974 1981 2 2 1 5
Czech Republic Dana Brožková 2006 2011 2 2 1 5
Norway Ingrid Hadler 1966 1974 2 2 1 5
32 Finland Kirsi Boström (Tiira) 1993 1999 2 2 0 4
Denmark Emma Klingenberg 2014 2015 2 2 0 4
Sweden Karolin Ohlsson 2018 2024 2 2 0 3

Mixed

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Main article: List of World Orienteering Championships medalists (mixed events)
Sprint Relay
Year Gold Silver Bronze
2014  Switzerland  Denmark  Russia
2015  Denmark  Norway  Russia
2016  Denmark  Switzerland  Sweden
2017  Sweden  Denmark  Switzerland
2018  Sweden  Switzerland  Denmark
2021  Sweden  Norway  Switzerland
2022  Sweden  United Kingdom  Norway
2024  Switzerland  Finland  Norway

All-time medal table

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(Updated after WOC 2024)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Sweden736161195
2 Norway535249154
3 Switzerland524445141
4 Finland244533102
5 France1471132
6 Denmark1210729
7 Russia11121538
8 Great Britain46515
9 Czech Republic34512
10 Hungary3126
11 Czechoslovakia25815
12 Ukraine1359
13 Austria1113
14 Latvia1023
15 Australia1001
–Independent Athletes[53]0202
16 New Zealand0112
17 Soviet Union0022
18 Belarus0011
 Belgium0011
 Germany0011
 Italy0011
 Netherlands0011
Totals (22 entries)255254257766

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "How to follow WOC in Edinburgh". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  2. ^ "History". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  3. ^ Berglia, Knut; Brohaug, Tom-Erik; Staver, Kristoffer; Thuesen, Kaare; Strandhagen, Torgeir, eds. (1987). Orienteringsidretten i Norge gjennom 90 år (in Norwegian). Norwegian Orienteering Federation. p. 339.
  4. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1966". International Orienteering Federation. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  5. ^ VM Orientering 1968, retrieved 2022-01-19
  6. ^ Idrottsåret 1968, retrieved 2022-01-19
  7. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1970". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Sprint Relay in the World Orienteering Championships from 2014". International Orienteering Federation. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  9. ^ "World Orienteering Championships". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  10. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1966". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  11. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1968". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  12. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1970". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  13. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1972". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  14. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1974". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  15. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1976". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  16. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1978". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  17. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1979". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  18. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1981". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  19. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1983". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  20. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1985". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  21. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1987". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  22. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1989". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  23. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1991". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  24. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1993". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  25. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1995". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  26. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1997". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  27. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1999". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  28. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2001". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  29. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2003". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  30. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2004". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  31. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2005". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  32. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2006". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  33. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2007". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  34. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2008". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  35. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2009". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  36. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2010". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  37. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2011". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  38. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2012". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  39. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2013". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  40. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2014". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  41. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2015". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  42. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2016". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  43. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2017". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  44. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2018". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  45. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2019". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  46. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2021". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  47. ^ a b "World Orienteering Championships 2023 awarded to Switzerland and WOC 2025 to Finland". International Orienteering Federation. 2019-08-08.
  48. ^ A historic Council meeting, IOF
  49. ^ "Hungary to host the World Orienteering Championships in 2027 | International Orienteering Federation". orienteering.sport. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  50. ^ "WOC 2028 in Spain, WTMBOC 2026 to Sweden and EOC 2026 in Lithuania". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  51. ^ "España acogerá el Campeonato del Mundo Absoluto de O-Pie 2028 en Girona". Federación Española de Orientación. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  52. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2028". Eventor. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  53. ^ Due to the Russian doping scandal, Russian athletes competed under neutral flag in 2021.
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