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 event at WOC 2013 in Vuokatti, Finland | |
Status | active |
Genre | sporting event |
Date(s) | July–August |
Frequency | annual |
Location(s) | various |
Inaugurated | 1966 |
Previous event | 2019 |
Next event | 2021 |
Organised by | IOF |
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:
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 |
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, New York, 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 | Kyiv, 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[39] |
postponed until 2022 | | |
2021 | 4–9 July | Doksy, Czech Republic [40] |
2022 | 26—30 June | Triangle Region, Denmark |
2023 | 11—16 July | Graubünden, Switzerland[41] |
2024 | TBA | Edinburgh, United Kingdom |
2025 | TBA | Kuopio, Finland[41] |
2026 | TBA | Genova, Italy[42] |
Multiple winnersEdit
MenEdit
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 |
8 | Matthias Kyburz | 2012 | 2022 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
6 | Petter Thoresen | 1989 | 1997 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
7 | Valentin Novikov | 2004 | 2013 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
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 |
31 | Gustav Bergman | 2012 | 2022 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
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 | Kasper Harlem Fosser | 2019 | 2022 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
29 | Carl Godager Kaas | 2010 | 2016 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
30 | Matthias Merz | 2005 | 2012 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
32 | Emil Svensk | 2018 | 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
WomenEdit
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 | 2022 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 28 |
3 | Minna Kauppi | 2004 | 2013 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 17 |
4 | Maja Alm | 2012 | 2021 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
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 |
31 | Lina Strand | 2016 | 2022 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
23 | Natalia Gemperle | 2016 | 2021 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
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 | |
32 | Karolin Ohlsson | 2018 | 2021 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
MixedEdit
- 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 |
All-time medal tableEdit
(Updated after WOC 2022)
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sweden (SWE) | 68 | 59 | 57 | 184 |
2 | Norway (NOR) | 52 | 51 | 46 | 149 |
3 | Switzerland (SUI) | 47 | 38 | 43 | 128 |
4 | Finland (FIN) | 24 | 43 | 32 | 99 |
5 | France (FRA) | 14 | 7 | 11 | 32 |
6 | Denmark (DEN) | 12 | 10 | 7 | 29 |
7 | Russia (RUS) | 11 | 12 | 15 | 38 |
8 | Great Britain (GBR) | 4 | 6 | 5 | 15 |
9 | Czech Republic (CZE) | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
10 | Hungary (HUN) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
11 | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 2 | 5 | 8 | 15 |
12 | Ukraine (UKR) | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
13 | Austria (AUT) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
14 | Latvia (LAT) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
15 | Australia (AUS) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
16 | New Zealand (NZL) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
17 | Soviet Union (URS) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
18 | Belarus (BLR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Belgium (BEL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Germany (GER) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Italy (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Totals (22 nations) | 244 | 241 | 246 | 731 |
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ^ "History". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
- ^ "Sprint Relay in the World Orienteering Championships from 2014". International Orienteering Federation. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1966". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1968". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1970". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1972". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1974". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1976". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1978". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1979". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1981". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1983". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1985". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1987". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1989". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1991". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1993". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1995". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1997". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1999". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2001". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2003". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2004". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2005". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2006". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2007". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2008". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2009". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2010". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2011". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2012". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2013". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2014". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2015". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2016". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2017". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2018". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2019". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 2021". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
- ^ a b "World Orienteering Championships 2023 awarded to Switzerland and WOC 2025 to Finland". International Orienteering Federation. 2019-08-08.
- ^ A historic Council meeting, IOF[1]
External linksEdit
- WOC