The World Orienteering Championships 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. The races are contested between members of the IOF, which are each aligned to a National Olympic Committee.
Thierry Gueorgiou is a French orienteer who holds the record for gold medals won at the World Orienteering Championships for a male athlete, with 14 gold medals between 2003 and 2017. Gueorgiou has won more than 20 gold medals in international competitions, including the World Orienteering Championships (WOC) middle distance event a record eight times: 2003–2005, 2007–2009, 2011 and 2017.
Matthias Merz is a Swiss orienteering competitor, winner of the 2007 World Orienteering Championships in Kyiv, Ukraine, Long distance, and also earned a silver medal on the Sprint distance in the same championship. He has a bronze medal from the 2005 Relay Championships in Aichi, Japan, as member of the Swiss winning team. When Merz won the bronze medal in the middle distance at the World Championships in Miskolc in 2009, he joined countryman Daniel Hubmann as the only two men to have ever medaled in all four orienteering disciplines at the World Championships.
Pasi Ikonen was a Finnish orienteering competitor, winner of the middle distance at the 2001 World Orienteering Championships. His other achievements include two individual silver medals at the world championships, and medals at the World Games and the European championships.
Janne Juhani Salmi is a Finnish orienteering competitor and world champion. He won the short distance at the 1997 World Orienteering Championships, and a gold medal in the relay at the 2001 World Orienteering Championships. He won a total of three individual world championship medals and four relay medals, and won the Jukola relay three times with the club Turun Suunnistajat.
Håvard Tveite was a Norwegian orienteering competitor. He was Relay World Champion from 1987 and 1989, and has a silver medal from 1991 and a bronze medal from 1997. He also obtained bronze in the individual course at the 1989 World Orienteering Championships.
Baptiste Rollier is a Swiss orienteering competitor.
Martin Johansson is a Swedish orienteering, ski-orienteering, and cross-country skiing competitor, a medallist at the orienteering world championships, and a 2004 Junior World Champion in relay. He received bronze medals in sprint at the World Orienteering Championships in Kyiv 2007 and Olomouc 2008. His brother, Lars, is a member of the Rockford Icehogs
Matthias Müller is a Swiss orienteering competitor.
Frédéric Tranchand is a French orienteering competitor.
Matthias Kyburz is a Swiss competitor in orienteering and athletics. In orienteering, Kyburz has attained gold medals in the Junior World Orienteering Championships, European Orienteering Championships and the World Orienteering Championships. In athletics, Kyburz is a long-distance specialist; Kyburz attained the world record in 50 km on a treadmill of 2:56:35 on 16 April 2020, breaking a record held by Florian Neuschwander. On 7 April 2024 Kyburz ran 2:07:44 in his Marathon debut, becoming the third fastest Swiss athlete of all time over the distance after Tadesse Abraham and his coach Viktor Röthlin, and achieving the qualifying standard for the 2024 Olympic Games. In the Olympic Marathon, Kyburz finished in 30th place.
Gustav Bergman is a Swedish orienteering competitor. Bergman has won five gold medals for Sweden in relay events at the World Orienteering Championships, and four medals in individual events.
Florian Howald is a Swiss orienteering competitor. At the 2016 World Orienteering Championships in Strömstad he won a silver medal in mixed sprint relay with the Swiss team, along with Rahel Friederich, Martin Hubmann and Judith Wyder.
Eskil Kinneberg is a Norwegian orienteer. In addition to winning individual gold medal at the Orienteering World Championships and individual silver medal at the European championships, he has won eight medals with Norwegian teams in the relays at the world and European championships, including several victories.
Andrine Benjaminsen is a Norwegian orienteer and ski orienteer.
Simona Aebersold is a Swiss orienteering competitor. She is the daughter of Christian Aebersold, who won the World Orienteering Championships 3 times.
Kristian Jones or Kris Jones is a competitor in orienteering and athletics, competing for Great Britain. He also competes for Lillomarka OK in Norway, Forth Valley orienteers and Wales.
Andreas Kyburz is a Swiss orienteering competitor. He was born in Rheinfelden. He won a bronze medal in the sprint at the 2018 World Orienteering Championships in Latvia, behind Daniel Hubmann and Tim Robertson. At the 2016 European Orienteering Championships he won a bronze medal in the sprint relay with the Swiss team.
Emil Svensk is a Swedish orienteering competitor. His achievements include winning gold medals both in the World Orienteering Championships and the European Orienteering Championships.
Kasper Harlem Fosser is a Norwegian orienteering competitor who represents Norwegian club IL Heming and Swedish club IFK Göteborg.
