Individual/Classic/Long Distance
This event was called "Individual" from 1966 to 1989 and "Classic distance" from 1991 to 2001. Since 2003 it is called "Long distance".
This is a list of medalists from the World Orienteering Championships in men's orienteering. [1] [2]
This event was called "Individual" from 1966 to 1989 and "Classic distance" from 1991 to 2001. Since 2003 it is called "Long distance".
This event was first held in 1991. The format was changed and renamed "Middle Distance" in 2003 with the introduction of the Sprint discipline.
This event was first held in 2001.
This event was first held in 2022.
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Length and controls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |  Matthias Kyburz |  August Mollén | Jonatan Gustafsson | 2.4 km, 11 controls |
2009 Note: ^ In the 3rd leg Martin Johansson (Sweden) was in the lead when he suffered a serious injury; Thierry Gueorgiou (France), Anders Nordberg (Norway), and Michal Smola (Czech Republic) gave up their lead positions and rescued him. Interpretation of International Orienteering Federation (IOF) competition rules was at issue: rule 26.13 states "The organiser must void a competition if at any point it becomes clear that circumstances have arisen which make the competition unfair or dangerous for the competitors." After much deliberation on whether or not to void the relay, the organizers declared that it stood. [3] [4]
Men's orienteering. Table updated to May 2024. Does not include mixed events.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Norway | 42 | 23 | 28 | 93 |
| 2 | Sweden | 22 | 24 | 26 | 72 |
| 3 |  Switzerland | 20 | 28 | 21 | 69 |
| 4 |  France | 14 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
| 5 |  Russia (1993–present) | 8 | 7 | 3 | 18 |
| 6 |  Finland | 6 | 23 | 13 | 42 |
| 7 |  Denmark | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 8 |  Great Britain | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 |  Ukraine | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 10 |  Czech Republic (1993–present) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 | Czechoslovakia (1966–91) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 12 |  Latvia | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 13 |  New Zealand | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 |  Austria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Belgium | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Hungary | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Italy | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Soviet Union (1966–91) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (18 entries) | 121 | 121 | 122 | 364 | |
Updated to May 2024. Including mixed events.
| Rank | Athlete | Country | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thierry Gueorgiou | France | 2003 | 2017 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 23 |
| 2 | Olav Lundanes | Norway | 2010 | 2019 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 17 |
| 3 | Daniel Hubmann | Switzerland | 2005 | 2019 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 28 |
| 4 | Matthias Kyburz | Switzerland | 2012 | 2023 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| 5 | Øyvin Thon | Norway | 1979 | 1989 | 7 | 1 | - | 8 |
| 6 | Andrey Khramov | Russia | 2005 | 2015 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| 7 | Gustav Bergman | Sweden | 2013 | 2023 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| 8 | Petter Thoresen | Norway | 1989 | 1997 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 9 | Valentin Novikov | Russia | 2004 | 2013 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
| 10 | Bjørnar Valstad | Norway | 1991 | 2004 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
Updated to May 2024. Including mixed events.
| Country | Athlete | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | Thierry Gueorgiou | 2003 | 2017 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 23 |
| Norway | Olav Lundanes | 2010 | 2019 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 17 |
| Switzerland | Daniel Hubmann | 2005 | 2019 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 28 |
| Russia | Andrey Khramov | 2005 | 2015 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| Sweden | Gustav Bergman | 2012 | 2023 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| Denmark | Søren Bobach | 2014 | 2015 | 3 | 1 | - | 4 |
| Finland | Jani Lakanen | 1999 | 2006 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| United Kingdom | Jamie Stevenson | 2003 | 2008 | 2 | - | 2 | 4 |
| Ukraine | Yuri Omeltchenko | 1995 | 2004 | 1 | 2 | - | 3 |
| Latvia | Edgars Bertuks* | 2012 | 2013 | 1 | - | 2 | 3 |
| Czech Republic | Tomáš Dlabaja & Jan Procházka & Jan Šedivý (by the gold first ranking system) | 2012 2012 2012 | 2012 2012 2012 | 1 1 1 | - - - | - - - | 1 1 1 |
| Rudolf Ropek (by total number of medals) | 2001 | 2003 | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Czechoslovakia | Petr Kozak (by the gold first ranking system) | 1991 | 1991 | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Zdenek Lenhart & Jaroslav Kačmarčík (by total number of medals) | 1970 1979 | 1979 1983 | - - | - 1 | 2 1 | 2 2 | |
| New Zealand | Tim Robertson * | 2018 | 2021 | - | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Austria | Jannis Bonek * | 2023 | 2023 | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Belgium | Yannick Michiels * | 2022 | 2022 | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Hungary | Zoltán Boros & János Sotér & Géza Vajda & András Hegedus | 1972 1972 1972 1972 | 1972 1972 1972 1972 | - - - - | - - - - | 1 1 1 1 | 1 1 1 1 |
| Italy | Mikhail Mamleev* | 2009 | 2009 | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Soviet Union | Sixten Sild* | 1991 | 1991 | - | - | 1 | 1 |
An asterisk (*) marks athletes who are the only representatives of their respective countries to win a medal.
Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they use to find control points. Originally a training exercise in land navigation for military officers, orienteering has developed many variations. Among these, the oldest and the most popular is foot orienteering. For the purposes of this article, foot orienteering serves as a point of departure for discussion of all other variations, but almost any sport that involves racing against a clock and requires navigation with a map is a type of orienteering.
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).
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.
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).
Valentin Yuryevich Novikov is a Russian orienteering competitor. He is the brother of Leonid Novikov.
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.
The World Ski Orienteering Championships (Ski-WOC) is the official event to award the titles of World Champions in ski orienteering. The World Championships is organized every odd year. The programme includes Sprint, Middle and Long Distance competitions, and a Relay for both men and women. The first Ski-WOC was held in 1975.
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.
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.
Michal Smola is a Czech orienteering competitor, silver medalist from the world championships, and junior world champion. He became Junior World Champion in the short distance in Nove Mesto na Morave in 2000, and with the Czech team in relay in 2000 and in 2001. His best achievement by September 2009 is silver medal in the middle distance at the 2008 World Orienteering Championship in Olomouc.
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
Foot orienteering is the oldest formal orienteering sport, and the one with the most "starts" per year. Usually, a FootO is a timed race in which participants start at staggered intervals, are individually timed, and are expected to perform all navigation on their own. The control points are shown on the orienteering map and must be visited in the specified order. Standings are determined first by successful completion of the course, then by shortest time on course.
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, ski mountaineer and skysnow runner. Alexandersson has won gold medals at world championships in five different sports plus a silver medal in a sixth sport, and has won a total of 19 gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships, making her the second most successful orienteer in history by number of gold medals at World Championships, behind Simone Niggli-Luder. 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.
Natalia Mikhailovna Gemperle is a Russian-born Swiss orienteering competitor. She competes for the clubs Alfta-Ösa and OLK Aargus
The World Trail Orienteering Championships were first held in 2004 and annually since them. The majority of the championships have been held in Europe, with 2005 the only exception to date.
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.
Kasper Harlem Fosser is a Norwegian orienteering competitor who represents Norwegian club IL Heming and Swedish club IFK Göteborg.