The 2025 World Championships were in Finland, at Kuopio in the middle of the country. It was a forest only World Champs. The build up and lead in events had been successful and it all went very well.

By the end the big nations had taken all of the medals: Sweden 7, Norway 6, Switzerland 4, and the home country Finland won bronze in the last race .

Grace Molloy was the British athlete getting top-20 results: 18th in the Middle and 14th in the Long. The GBR relay teams were 7th in the Women's and 10th in the Men's..

Results

• Middle Qualification

• Middle Qualification maps, GPS tracking, photos

• Middle Finals

• Middle Finals maps, GPS tracking, photos

• Long Distance Races

• Long maps, GPS tracking, photos

• Relays

• Relay maps, GPS tracking, photos

Summary

It was a very successful championships that rewarded the best orienteering and provided entertainment for those watching. The competition between Tove Alexandersson and Simona Aebersold in particular was tremendous - they both put some much into it. And that the home country secured a medal in the final race, and it looked that might not happen was an appropriate end.

It was commented that with the competitions inn Central Finland one might have more wild terrain, whereas that was not the case with the setting being so close to the big City of Kuopio.The most wild terrain was not used for a medal race - it was the middle qualification on the first day, which was some distance away in Tahko.

Great Britain Team

British Orienteering News Item on the Team

Britain had a team of ten, five women and five men.

• Jo Shepherd (Middle, Long, Relay)

• Megan Mitchell (Middle, Relay)

• Grace Molloy (Middle, Long, Relay)

• Alison Smithard (Long)

• Isobel Howard (travelling reserve)

• Joshua Dudley (Long, Relay)

• Alastair Thomas (Middle)

• Ben Mitchell (Middle)

• Luke Fisher (Long)

• Simon Harden (Middle, Relay)

Simon Harden, photo: Rob Lines

Middle

Women

1. Tove Alexandersson, Sweden
2. Sanna Fast, Sweden
3. Hanna Lundberg, Sweden
4. Andrine Benjaminsen, Norway
5. Simona Aebersold, Switzerland
6. Natalia Gemperle, Switzerland

Men

1. Eirik Langedal Breivik, Norway
2. Kasper Harlem Fosser, Norway
3. Anton Johansson, Sweden
4. Matthias Kyburz, Switzerland
5. Miika Kirmula, Finland
6. Gustav Bergman, Sweden

GBR in the Middle Races

Ben Mitchell, photo: IOF / Kristina Lindgren

Qualification races were the day before the finals. Ben did not make it through, coming 17th of 40 runners, with 15 to qualify. The other runners got through.

In the men's final Simon was 25th, Alastair 37th.

In the women's final Grace was 18th, Megan 25th and Jo 32nd.

Grace Molloy, photo: Rob Lines

Megan Mitchell, photo: Joni Solonen

Simon Harden, photo: Rob Lines

Alastair Thomas, photo: IOF / Kristina Lindgren

Long

Women

1. Simona Aebersold, Switzerland
2. Tove Alexandersson, Sweden
3. Andrine Benjaminsen, Norway
4. Natalia Gemperle, Switzerland
5. Sanna Fast, Sweden
6. Venla Harju, Finland

Men

1. Kasper Harlem Fosser, Norway
2. Martin Regborn, Sweden
3. Matthias Kyburz, Switzerland
4. Emil Svensk, Sweden
5. Viktor Svensk, Sweden
6. Miika Kirmula, Finland

GBR in the Long Races

In the women's race Grace was 14th, Jo was 27th and Alison was 46th.

In the men's race Luke was 28th and Joshua was 32nd.

Jo Shepherd (in the Middle Final, photo: IOF/ Kristina Lindgren,

Alison Smithard, photo: Rob Lines

Alison Smithard finishes the long, photo: Rob Lines

Luke Fisher, photo: Rob Lines

Joshua Dudley, photo: Rob Lines

Relays

Women's Relay

The Start, photo: Rob Lines

1. Sweden
2. Norway
3. Switzerland
4. Czechia
5. Finland
6. Denmark

Congratulations to Czechia on their result - Tereza Rauturier on the last leg being up with some of the very experienced last leg runners for the BIg-4 (Tove Alexandersson started with more than two minutes lead.) The second best time on the middle leg was recorded by the Czech Lucie Dittrichova, last year's JWOC double gold medallist.

GBR, Jo Shepherd, Grace Molloy and Megan Mitchell, were 7th.

Handover, Jo to Grace, photo: Rob Lines

Men's Relay

1. Norway
2. Switzerland
3. Finland
4. France
5. Estonia
6. Denmark

Sweden, perhaps spoilt for choice for the team, left out the two runners who had come top-6 in the Middle, preferring the two who had come top-4 in the long and for the last leg Max Peter Bejmer 8th in the middle and with a great reputation from domestic relays and known for his speed - handy if it came to a sprint finish? They were chasing in 4th when the last leg started, and Max Peter had a nightmare. Sweden were disqualified.

GBR, Luke Fisher, Joshua Dudley and Simon Harden, were 10th.

Handover, Luke to Joshua, photo: Rob Lines