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 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).
Emil Wingstedt is a Swedish orienteering competitor. He won the 2005 and 2006 Sprint World Orienteering Championships, and finished third on the long distance in 2003. He is Relay World Champion from 2003 with the Swedish team, as well as having a silver medal from 2007, and bronze medals from 2004 and 2006. He is a four-time European Champion, winning the Sprint distance in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. He won the classical relay race Tiomila in 2006, 2007 and 2012 with his club team Halden SK.
Brigitte Wolf is a Swiss orienteering competitor and ski mountaineer.
Valentin Yuryevich Novikov is a Russian orienteering competitor. He is the brother of Leonid Novikov.
Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, World champion and European champion. She took the overall victory in the 2008 World Cup.
Håvard Tveite was a Norwegian orienteering competitor. He was Relay World Champion from 1987 and 1989, and has a silver medal from 1991 and a bronze medal from 1997. He also obtained bronze in the individual course at the 1989 World Orienteering Championships.
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.
Merja Rantanen is a Finnish orienteering competitor. She received a silver medal in the middle distance at the 2008 European Orienteering Championships in Ventspils. She also participated on the Finnish team that achieved a bronze medal in the championship relay.
Dmitriy Alexandrovich Tsvetkov is a Russian orienteering competitor and past European champion. He received a gold medal in the long distance at the 2008 European Orienteering Championships in Ventspils, and also a gold medal in the relay event, together with Andrey Khramov and Valentin Novikov. Dmitry also won two gold medals at JWOC 2003 in Estonia in a classic distance and relay. On March 5, 2022, Dmitry Tsvetkov supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Tatiana Ryabkina is a Russian orienteering competitor. She won the O-Ringen in 2012 and had international success.
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
Matthias Müller is a Swiss orienteering competitor.
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 21 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.
Matthias Kyburz is a Swiss competitor in orienteering and athletics. In orienteering, Kyburz has attained gold medals in the Junior World Orienteering Championships, European Orienteering Championships and the World Orienteering Championships. In athletics, Kyburz is a long-distance specialist; Kyburz attained the world record in 50 km on a treadmill of 2:56:35 on 16 April 2020, breaking a record held by Florian Neuschwander. On 7 April 2024 Kyburz ran 2:07:44 in his Marathon debut, becoming the third fastest Swiss athlete of all time over the distance after Tadesse Abraham and his coach Viktor Röthlin, and achieving the qualifying standard for the 2024 Olympic Games. In the Olympic Marathon, Kyburz finished in 30th place.
Gustav Bergman is a Swedish orienteering competitor. Bergman has won five gold medals for Sweden in relay events at the World Orienteering Championships, and four medals in individual events.
Natalia Mikhailovna Gemperle is a Russian-born Swiss orienteering competitor. She competes for the clubs Alfta-Ösa and OLK Aargus
Simona Aebersold is a Swiss orienteering competitor. She is the daughter of Christian Aebersold, who won the World Orienteering Championships 3 times.
Kasper Harlem Fosser is a Norwegian orienteering competitor who represents Norwegian club IL Heming and Swedish club IFK Göteborg.
