Sport is considered a national pastime in Sweden, and about half of the population actively takes part in sports activities. The most important all-embracing organisations for sports in Sweden are the Swedish Sports Confederation, and the Swedish Olympic Committee. In total over 2 million people are members of a sports club.
Jamie Stevenson is a British orienteering champion. In 2003 he won the gold medal in the sprint distance at the World Orienteering Championships. He was the first and, to-date, the only British male orienteering world champion.
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.
The Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal is an annual award "for the most significant Swedish sports achievement of the year". It has been awarded by a jury led by the Swedish morning paper Svenska Dagbladet since 1925. According to its statutes the Medal may be awarded in November or December to either an individual sportsperson or a team. An individual can be awarded the Medal no more than twice, and to receive a second medal, that athlete must be "regarded a class of his own".
Minna Kauppi is a Finnish orienteer, who was born in Asikkala and lives in Lahti. Kauppi is a nine-time World Champion, including five golds from relays. Kauppi is the most successful Finnish orienteer of all time when ranked by number of gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships. Kauppi was named Finnish Sports Personality of the Year in 2010.
Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, World champion and European champion. She took the overall victory in the 2008 World Cup.
Anette Nilsson-Granstedt is a Swedish orienteering competitor. She is Relay World Champion from 1993, as a member of the Swedish winning team. She also has a silver medal from 1995, and a bronze medal from 1999.
Cecilia Nilsson is a Swedish orienteering competitor. She is Relay World Champion from 1997, as a member of the Swedish winning team. She also has a silver medal from 2001.
Daniel Hubmann is a Swiss orienteering competitor. Hubmann is the most successful male Swiss orienteer of all time, with 9 Gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships. In 2023, with his victory in the relay at the 2023 World Orienteering Championships, Hubmann became the oldest competitor to win a gold medal at the World Orienteering Championships, at the age of 40 years and 61 days. Hubmann is currently the third most successful male orienteer of all time, behind Thierry Gueorgiou and Olav Lundanes, and has won more medals in total than any other male orienteer.
Tatiana Ryabkina is a Russian orienteering competitor. She won the O-Ringen in 2012 and had international success.
Olav Lundanes is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, hailing from Ålesund. He has won gold medal at the World Orienteering Championships ten times and the European Orienteering Championships four times. He competes for Halden SK.
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.
Maja Møller Alm is a Danish orienteering and Athletics competitor who has won seven World Championships and two World Games titles. She is especially known for her four gold medals on the sprint distance, where she has won the title four years in a row: 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. She is also a medalist from the Junior World Championships. Since 2006 she has been coached by Danish national coach Lars Lindstrøm. Alm is remarkable for her dominant running speed, which gives her a great advantage over other competitors at the sprint distance.
François Gonon is a French orienteering competitor. He has received gold and silver medals with the French relay team in both world championships and European championships. He currently competes for the French orienteering club O'JURA and for the Swedish orienteering club IFK Göteborg.
Robert Merl is an Austrian orienteering competitor and junior world champion.
Gernot Ymsén-Kerschbaumer, previously Gernot Kerschbaumer, is an Austrian orienteering competitor born in 1983 in Vorau. At the World Games in 2013 he won a bronze medal in the mixed relay, together with Anna Nilsson Simkovics, Robert Merl and Ursula Kadan.
Anna Nilsson Simkovics is an Austrian orienteering competitor. At the World Games in 2013, she won a bronze medal in the mixed relay, together with Gernot Kerschbaumer, Robert Merl, and Ursula Kadan.
Ursula Kadan is an Austrian orienteering competitor. At the World Games in 2013 she won a bronze medal in the mixed relay, together with Gernot Kerschbaumer, Robert Merl and Anna Nilsson Simkovics.
Peo (Per-Olof) Bengtsson, born 18 August 1933 near Kristianstad, is a Swedish orienteer and promotor of orienteering.
Sweden 
