World Orienteering Championships

The World Orienteering Championships (or WOC for short) is an annual orienteering event organized by the International Orienteering Federation. The first World Championships was held in Fiskars, Finland in 1966. They were held biennially up to 2003 (with the exception of 1978 and 1979). Since 2003, competitions have been held annually. Participating nations have to be members of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).

World Orienteering Championships
Sprint final 2013, WOC 2013, 36.JPG
Sprint event at WOC 2013 in Vuokatti, Finland
Statusactive
Genresporting event
Date(s)July–August
Frequencyannual
Location(s)various
Inaugurated1966
Previous event2019
Next event2021
Organised byIOF

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

HistoryEdit

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.[1] Their main goal was to standardize the sport and streamline international competition rules. A group of people work with these tasks, and at the 1963 IOF Congress, the work was approved and a technical committee was created. This led to the first international orienteering competition; the 1962 European Championships in Løten, Norway. The first European Orienteering Championships (EOC) consisted of only one competition; individual. In the following EOC, in Le Brassus, Switzerland, the relay event was added to the competition program. These two EOCs are considered forerunners to the first World Orienteering Championships in 1966.

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

FormatEdit

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.[2] The sprint relay is competed in urban areas and consists of four-orienteer mixed-gender teams with starting order woman-man-man-woman.

Current competition formatEdit

The current championship events are:

Forest WOC (odd years)
Distance Winning Time Notes
Long distance 90–100 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
Urban WOC (even years)
Distance Winning Time Notes
Sprint 12–15 min
Knock-out sprint 5–8 min First held in 2020
Sprint relay 4 × 12–15 min Four-person teams, two men and two women.

Event timelineEdit

VenuesEdit

Year Dates Location[3]
1966 1–2 October   Fiskars, Finland[4]
1968 28–29 September   Linköping, Sweden[5]
1970 27–29 September   Friedrichroda, German Democratic Republic[6]
1972 14–16 September   Staré Splavy, Czechoslovakia[7]
1974 20–22 September   Viborg, Denmark[8]
1976 24–26 September   Aviemore, United Kingdom[9]
1978 15–17 September   Kongsberg, Norway[10]
1979 2–4 September   Tampere, Finland[11]
1981 4–6 September   Thun, Switzerland[12]
1983 1–4 September   Zalaegerszeg, Hungary[13]
1985 4–6 September   Bendigo, Australia[14]
1987 3–5 September   Gérardmer, France[15]
1989 17–20 August   Skövde, Sweden[16]
1991 21–25 August   Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia[17]
1993 9–14 October   West Point, United States[18]
1995 15–20 August   Detmold, Germany[19]
1997 11–16 August   Grimstad, Norway[20]
1999 1–8 August   Inverness, United Kingdom[21]
2001 29 July – 4 August   Tampere, Finland[22]
2003 3–9 August   Rapperswil/Jona, Switzerland[23]
2004 11–19 September   Västerås, Sweden[24]
2005 9–15 August   Aichi, Japan[25]
2006 1–5 August   Århus, Denmark[26]
2007 18–26 August   Kiev, Ukraine[27]
2008 10–20 July   Olomouc, Czech Republic[28]
2009 16–23 August   Miskolc, Hungary[29]
2010 8–15 August   Trondheim, Norway[30]
2011 13–20 August   Savoie, France[31]
2012 14–22 July   Lausanne, Switzerland[32]
2013 6–14 July   Vuokatti, Finland[33]
2014 5–13 July   Trentino-Veneto, Italy[34]
2015 1–7 August   Inverness, United Kingdom[35]
2016 20–28 August   Strömstad-Tanum, Sweden[36]
2017 1–7 July   Tartu, Estonia[37]
2018 4–11 August   Riga, Latvia[38]
2019 13–17 August   Østfold, Norway
2020 postponed until 2022   Triangle Region, Denmark
2021 4–9 July   Doksy, Czech Republic
2022 26—30 June   Triangle Region, Denmark
2023 11—16 July   Graubünden, Switzerland[39]
2024 TBA   Edinburgh, United Kingdom
2025 TBA   Kuopio, Finland[39]

Multiple winnersEdit

MenEdit

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.

Rank Athlete From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1   Thierry Gueorgiou 2003 2017 14 5 4 23
2   Olav Lundanes 2010 2019 10 4 3 17
3   Daniel Hubmann 2005 2019 8 11 9 28
4   Øyvin Thon 1979 1989 7 1 0 8
5   Andrey Khramov 2005 2015 6 3 3 12
6   Petter Thoresen 1989 1997 5 1 2 8
7   Valentin Novikov 2004 2013 4 5 2 11
8   Matthias Kyburz 2012 2018 4 4 0 8
9   Bjørnar Valstad 1991 2004 4 3 3 10
10   Tore Sagvolden 1979 1987 4 3 1 8
11   Rolf Pettersson 1972 1979 4 2 0 6
12   Jonas Leandersson 2012 2018 4 0 3 7
13   Morten Berglia 1981 1987 4 0 1 5
  Jørgen Rostrup 1999 2005 4 0 1 5
15   Thomas Bührer 1991 2003 4 0 0 4
16   Magne Dæhli 2012 2019 3 2 1 6
17   Egil Johansen 1976 1979 3 2 0 5
18   Emil Wingstedt 2003 2007 3 1 3 7
19   Bernt Frilén 1970 1974 3 1 1 5
20   Søren Bobach 2014 2016 3 1 0 4
21   Åge Hadler 1966 1972 3 0 3 6
22   Christian Aebersold 1991 1995 3 0 0 3
  Arne Johansson 1972 1976 3 0 0 3
  Karl Johansson 1966 1970 3 0 0 3
  Eskil Kinneberg 2017 2018 3 0 0 3
26   Jörgen Mårtensson 1981 1997 2 6 2 10
27   Jani Lakanen 1999 2013 2 5 1 8
28   Janne Salmi 1995 2001 2 4 1 7
29   Carl Godager Kaas 2010 2016 2 4 0 6
30   Matthias Merz 2005 2012 2 3 4 9
31   Gustav Bergman 2012 2019 2 2 4 8
32   Emil Svensk 2018 2019 2 0 0 2

WomenEdit

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.

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

MixedEdit

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

All-time medal tableEdit

(Updated after WOC 2019)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Sweden (SWE)595656171
2  Norway (NOR)504743140
3   Switzerland (SUI)453539119
4  Finland (FIN)24433299
5  France (FRA)1471132
6  Denmark (DEN)1210628
7  Russia (RUS)11121538
8  Czech Republic (CZE)34512
9  Great Britain (GBR)34411
10  Hungary (HUN)3126
11  Czechoslovakia (TCH)25815
12  Ukraine (UKR)1348
13  Austria (AUT)1102
14  Latvia (LAT)1023
15  Australia (AUS)1001
16  New Zealand (NZL)0101
17  Soviet Union (URS)0022
18  Belarus (BLR)0011
  Germany (GER)0011
  Italy (ITA)0011
Totals (20 nations)230229232691

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ "History". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  2. ^ "Sprint Relay in the World Orienteering Championships from 2014". International Orienteering Federation. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  3. ^ "World Orienteering Championships". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  4. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1966". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  5. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1968". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  6. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1970". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  7. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1972". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  8. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1974". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  9. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1976". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  10. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1978". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  11. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1979". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  12. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1981". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  13. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1983". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  14. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1985". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  15. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1987". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  16. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1989". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  17. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1991". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  18. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1993". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  19. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1995". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  20. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1997". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  21. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1999". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  22. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2001". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  23. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2003". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  24. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2004". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  25. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2005". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  26. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2006". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  27. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2007". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  28. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2008". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  29. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2009". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  30. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2010". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  31. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2011". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  32. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2012". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  33. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2013". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  34. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2014". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  35. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2015". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  36. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2016". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  37. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2017". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  38. ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2018". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  39. ^ a b "World Orienteering Championships 2023 awarded to Switzerland and WOC 2025 to Finland". International Orienteering Federation. 2019-08-08.

External linksEdit

WOC
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