Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Playing areas and fields consist of either snow or ice.
Ski orienteering (SkiO) is a cross-country skiing endurance winter racing sport and one of the four orienteering disciplines recognized by the IOF. A successful ski orienteer combines high physical endurance, strength and excellent technical skiing skills with the ability to navigate and make the best route choices while skiing at a high speed.
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.
Eduard Alexandrovich Khrennikov is a Russian ski-orienteering competitor and world champion, and three times winner of the overall World cup. He received a gold medal in the long course at the 2004, 2005 and 2007 World Ski Orienteering Championships, in the middle distance in 2002 and 2007, and in sprint in 2004 and 2007. He won the overall World Cup in Ski Orienteering in 2000, 2003 and 2006, and finished 3rd in 2001. Khrennikov by winning the middle distance at the 2017 Winter Military World Games in Sochi, Russia won his fifth medal in this competition. He continued winning three more gold medals there.
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
Ruslan Gritsan is a Russian competitor and multiple world champion in both ski-orienteering and mountain bike orienteering.
Olga Novikova is a Kazakhstani ski-orienteering competitor. She was born in Kazakhstan, and later moved to Russia. She is Junior World Champion from 2004. She won a silver medal at the World Ski Orienteering Championships in 2007, competing for Russia. Competing for Kazakhstan, she placed third overall in the World Cup in 2010, and won four gold medals at the 2011 Asian Winter Games.
Anders Hauge is a Norwegian ski-orienteering competitor. He received a silver medal in the relay event at the 2004 World Ski Orienteering Championships in Östersund, together with Øystein Kvaal Østerbø, Tommy Olsen and Eivind Tonna. He placed 11th in the long distance, 8th in the middle distance, and 14th in the sprint at the 2004 World Championships. He competed at the 2005 World Championships in Levi, and placed 15th in the sprint and sixth in the relay.
Eivind Lühr Tonna is a Norwegian ski-orienteering competitor. He received a silver medal in the relay event at the 2004 World Ski Orienteering Championships in Östersund, together with Øystein Kvaal Østerbø, Tommy Olsen and Anders Hauge. He finished 12th in the middle distance and 6th in the sprint distance at the 2004 world championships.
Olli-Markus Taivainen is a Finnish ski-orienteering competitor and World Champion. He won a gold medal in the middle distance, a silver medal in the sprint and a bronze medal in the long distance at the 2009 World Ski Orienteering Championships.
Mervi Väisänen is a Finnish ski-orienteering and mountain bike orienteering competitor.
Alexandr Babenko is a ski-orienteering competitor from Kazakhstan. He competed at the 2009 World Ski Orienteering Championships in Rusutsu, where he placed 40th in the sprint, 27th in the middle distance, 36th in the long distance, and 9th in the relay with the Kazakhstani team. He won a silver medal in sprint at the 2011 Asian Winter Games, behind Mikhail Sorokin.
Mikhail Sorokin is a ski-orienteering competitor who has competed for Russia and Kazakhstan. He won a bronze medal at the Junior World Ski Orienteering Championships in 2001. He competed for Russia at the 2009 World Ski Orienteering Championships in Rusutsu, where he placed 12th in the long distance. Competing for Kazakhstan, he won a gold medal in sprint at the 2011 Asian Winter Games, ahead of Alexandr Babenko.
Alexey Nemtsev is a ski-orienteering competitor from Kazakhstan. He competed at the 2009 World Ski Orienteering Championships in Rusutsu, where he placed 29th in the long distance, and 9th in the relay with the Kazakhstani team. He won a silver medal in the long distance at the 2011 Asian Winter Games, behind Mikhail Sorokin.
Bayaraagiin Gerelt-Od is a ski-orienteering competitor from Mongolia. At the 2011 Asian Winter Games, he won a bronze medal in the sprint, behind Mikhail Sorokin and Alexandr Babenko, and a bronze medal in the long distance behind Sorokin and Alexey Nemtsev.
Elmira Moldasheva is a ski-orienteering competitor from Kazakhstan. She competed at the 2009 World Ski Orienteering Championships in Rusutsu, where she placed 30th in the sprint, 32nd in the middle distance, 30th in the long distance, and 7th in the relay with the Kazakhstani team. She won a gold medal in the relay at the 2011 Asian Winter Games.
Yevgeniya Kuzmina is a ski-orienteering competitor from Kazakhstan. She won four medals at the 2011 Asian Winter Games, including a gold medal in the relay, silver medals in the middle distance and the long distance, and a bronze medal in the sprint.
Liu Xiaoting is a ski-orienteering competitor from China. She won two medals at the 2011 Asian Winter Games, including a silver medal in the sprint behind Olga Novikova, and a bronze medal in the middle distance, behind Novikova and Yevgeniya Kuzmina.
Rory Michael Morrish is an Irish cross-country skier who participated in the 2006 Winter Olympics, as well as multiple world championships. Morrish previously competed in orienteering, becoming a cross-country skier via the discipline of ski-orienteering. In March 2001 Morrish became the first ever Irish competitor to take part in ski-orienteering when he participated in the long and short races at the Rovaniemi round of the World Cup, finishing 32nd in both. At the 2005 World Ski Orienteering Championships, Morrish finished 53rd in the long-distance competition, 59th in the middle-distance race and 55th in the sprint. Morrish was selected as the flag bearer for the Irish team in the 2006 Winter Olympics closing ceremony. During the 2011 World Championships, Morrish received attention for racing with wooden skis.
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.
Kazakhstan 
