Individual/Classic/Long
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 women'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 |  Tove Alexandersson |  Megan Carter Davies |  Eef van Dongen | 2.4 km, 11 controls |
Table updated after the 2019 Championships.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | 37 | 35 | 31 | 103 |
| 2 |  Switzerland | 28 | 8 | 18 | 54 |
| 3 |  Finland | 18 | 21 | 20 | 59 |
| 4 |  Norway | 11 | 25 | 16 | 52 |
| 5 |  Denmark | 7 | 7 | 2 | 16 |
| 6 |  Russia (1993–present) | 3 | 5 | 10 | 18 |
| 7 |  Hungary | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 |  Czech Republic (1993–present) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 9 | Czechoslovakia (1966–91) | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
| 10 | Great Britain | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 |  Austria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 |  Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 |  Ukraine | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 |  Belarus | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 France | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Germany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Soviet Union (1966–91) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (17 entries) | 113 | 112 | 114 | 339 | |
| Rank | Athlete | Country | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simone Niggli | Switzerland | 2001 | 2013 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 31 |
| 2 | Tove Alexandersson | Sweden | 2011 | 2021 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 24 |
| 3 | Minna Kauppi | Finland | 2004 | 2013 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 17 |
| 4 | Maja Alm | Denmark | 2012 | 2021 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| 5 | Marita Skogum | Sweden | 1983 | 1993 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| 6 | Annichen Kringstad | Sweden | 1981 | 1985 | 6 | - | - | 6 |
| 7 | Judith Wyder | Switzerland | 2011 | 2018 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| 8 | Helena Bergman | Sweden | 2012 | 2018 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 18 |
| 9 | Hanne Staff | Norway | 1997 | 2004 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 10 | Liisa Veijalainen | Finland | 1972 | 1981 | 4 | 4 | - | 8 |
| Country | Athlete | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | Simone Niggli-Luder | 2001 | 2013 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 31 |
| Sweden | Tove Alexandersson | 2011 | 2021 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 24 |
| Finland | Minna Kauppi | 2004 | 2013 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 17 |
| Denmark | Maja Alm | 2012 | 2021 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| Norway | Hanne Staff (by the gold first ranking system) | 1997 | 2004 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Marianne Andersen (by total number of medals) | 2005 | 2017 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 14 | |
| Russia | Natalia Gemperle | 2016 | 2021 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
| Czech Republic | Dana Brožková | 2006 | 2011 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Hungary | Katalin Oláh (by the gold first ranking system) | 1991 | 1995 | 2 | - | - | 2 |
| Sarolta Monspart (by total number of medals) | 1970 | 1976 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| United Kingdom | Yvette Baker | 1993 | 1999 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Czechoslovakia Czech Republic | Jana Cieslarová | 1989 | 1995 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Czechoslovakia (as such only) | Jana Cieslarová | 1989 | 1991 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Austria | Lucie Böhm* | 1997 | 1999 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 |
| Australia | Hanny Allston* | 2006 | 2006 | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Ukraine | Nadiya Volynska * | 2015 | 2015 | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Belarus | Anastasia Denisova * | 2016 | 2016 | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Germany | Frauke Schmitt Gran* | 1999 | 1999 | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| France | Isia Basset * | 2018 | 2018 | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Soviet Union | Alīda Ābola* | 1989 | 1989 | - | - | 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 require navigational skills 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.
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 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).
Heli Jukkola is a Finnish orienteering competitor. She won the 2007 Long distance World Orienteering Championships, and finished second in 2005. In the Middle distance she finished second 2007, and third 2003 and 2004. Two times Relay World Champion, from 2006 and 2007, as member of the Finnish winning team, and also silver medal from 2004.
Gunilla Svärd is a Swedish orienteering competitor. She is two times Relay World Champion as a member of the Swedish winning team in 1997 and 2004, as well as having silver medals from 2001 and 2003, and a bronze medal from 1999. She obtained bronze in the Short distance World Championship in 2001. Svärd won in the Overall World Cup in 1996, and she has obtained three victories in individual World Cup races. She also has a gold medal from 2002 in the European Orienteering Championships, and more than twenty-five medals from the Swedish Championships.
Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, World champion and European champion. She took the overall victory in the 2008 World Cup.
Anders Nordberg is a Norwegian orienteering competitor. He received a bronze medal at the 2004 World Orienteering Championship, and again a bronze medal in 2007. He finished second in the overall World Cup 2007.
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.
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.
Jon Duncan is a British orienteering competitor and world champion.
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Tove Alexandersson is a Swedish orienteer, ski orienteer, skyrunner and ski mountaineer. She has won a total of 17 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. 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.
Yannick Michiels is a Belgian orienteer. He is the first Belgian orienteer to receive a medal at the World Orienteering Championships, receiving a bronze medal in the sprint discipline at the 2022 World Orienteering Championships in Denmark.
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