The World Orienteering Championships 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. Since 2003, competitions have been held annually. Participating nations have to be members of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).
The Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) are an annual orienteering competition. They were first held in 1990. Entry is open to national teams aged 20 and below as of 31 December in the year of competition. Representative countries must be members of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF).
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.
Daniel Hubmann is a Swiss orienteering competitor, world champion in all three individual disciplines and multiple winner of the overall Orienteering World Cup. He is the brother of Martin Hubmann. Daniel also has his own fan club which is run by New Zealand Orienteer Joseph Lynch.
Magne Dæhli is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, ski-orienteer, and cross-country skier. His achievements include five medals in the relay at the World Orienteering Championships, of which three are gold medals. His best individual performances include a silver medal in the long distance from the European Orienteering Championships, and a bronze medal in the middle distance from the 2019 World Orienteering Championships.
Søren Bobach is a Danish orienteering competitor, and world champion at both junior and senior level. He runs for OK Pan Århus.
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
Ruslan Gritsan is a Russian competitor and multiple world champion in both ski-orienteering and mountain bike orienteering.
Mika Tervala is a Finnish mountain bike orienteering competitor, World Champion and European Champion. He won individual gold medals at the 2002, 2006 and 2007 World Championships, and a gold medal in the relay in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Mika coaches the Finnish national mountain bike orienteering teams since spring 2008.
Michaela Gigon is an Austrian mountain bike orienteer and several times world champion. She has competed at all World MTB Orienteering Championships from 2002 to 2010, won individual gold medals in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010, and in relay in 2009.
Christine Schaffner is a Swiss mountain bike orienteer and world champion. She has participated in all seven World MTB Orienteering Championships from 2004 to 2010, and won gold medals in the long distance four times, in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Adrian Jackson is an Australian mountain bike orienteering competitor and World Champion. He has won individual gold medals at the 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010 World MTB Orienteering Championships.
Ksenia Chernykh is a Russian mountain bike orienteer and World Champion. She won individual gold medals at the 2007 and 2008 World MTB Orienteering Championships, and a relay gold medal in 2006.
Linnea Gustafsson is a Swedish orienteering competitor. She won a bronze medal in the middle distance and finished fifth in the sprint at the World Games in 2009. She won a silver medal in sprint at the 2009 World Orienteering Championships in Miskolc, Hungary.
Bodil Holmström is a Finnish orienteering competitor. She won a bronze medal in the relay at the 2001 Junior World Orienteering Championships in Miskolc. She competed at the World Games in 2009, where she won a silver medal in the relay, and placed 7th in the sprint and 12th in the middle distance. At the 2009 World Orienteering Championships in Miskolc she won a bronze medal with the Finnish relay team.
Matthias Müller is a Swiss orienteering competitor.
Ida Bobach is a Danish orienteering competitor who was Junior World Champion in 2009, and became triple Junior World Champion from 2010, when she won the sprint, long distance and the relay. She represents the club OK Pan Århus, and since 2007, has received training from Danish national coach Lars Lindstrøm. In 2015 she won gold medals at the World Championships in the long and Relay.
Tove Alexandersson is a Swedish foot orienteer, ski orienteer, skyrunner, trail runner and ski mountaineer. She has won a total of 19 gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships and 10 gold medals at the World Ski Orienteering Championships. In 2018, she won the Sky Marathon event at the Skyrunning World Championships, in her second skyrunning race ever. In 2021, she won the combined discipline at the World Championships of Ski Mountaineering, and in 2023 she won a silver medal in the up and down discipline at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. She competes for Stora Tuna OK in orienteering and Alfta-Ösa OK in ski orienteering. Alexandersson holds the record for the number of gold medals in a row at the World Orienteering Championships, winning 11 in a row between 2018 and 2022.
Lina Strand is a Swedish orienteering competitor, born in Gothenburg. She won a bronze medal in the relay at the 2012 European Orienteering Championships in Falun.
The 29th World Orienteering Championships was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, from 14 to 21 July 2012.
Switzerland 
