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 |
Women's orienteering. Does not include mixed events. Updated to May 2024.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | 44 | 36 | 32 | 112 |
| 2 |  Switzerland | 29 | 12 | 20 | 61 |
| 3 |  Finland | 18 | 21 | 20 | 59 |
| 4 |  Norway | 11 | 26 | 19 | 56 |
| 5 |  Denmark | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| 6 |  Russia (1993–present) | 3 | 7 | 10 | 20 |
| 7 |  Hungary | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 | Great Britain | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 9 |  Czech Republic (1993–present) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 10 | Czechoslovakia (1966–91) | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
| 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 | |
| Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Soviet Union (1966–91) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (18 entries) | 122 | 121 | 123 | 366 | |
Updated to May 2024.
| Rank | Athlete | Country | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simone Niggli | Switzerland | 2001 | 2013 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 31 |
| 2 | Tove Alexandersson | Sweden | 2011 | 2023 | 19 | 9 | 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 |
Including mixed events. Updated to May 2024.
| Country | Athlete | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | Simone Niggli-Luder | 2001 | 2013 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 31 |
| Sweden | Tove Alexandersson | 2011 | 2023 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 31 |
| 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 | 2023 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 15 | |
| 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 |
| Netherlands | Eef van Dongen * | 2022 | 2022 | - | - | 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 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.
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).
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jon Duncan is a British orienteering competitor and world champion.
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.
Karin Schmalfeld is a German 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, 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
Kasper Harlem Fosser is a Norwegian orienteering competitor who represents Norwegian club IL Heming and Swedish club IFK Göteborg.
Barbara Bączek-Motała is a Polish orienteer.
