New World Champions?
Expect great orienteering excitement in July!
The first World Orienteering Championships (WOC) in Finland were held in Fiskars, in 1966. Initially, the WOC was organized every other year, but since 2003, it has been an annual event. In 2015, a decision was made to split the WOC into two parts, meaning that from 2019 onwards, the championships alternate yearly between sprint events and forest events.
In Finland, WOC medals have been contested not only in 1966 but also in 1979 and 2001 in Tampere, as well as in 2013 in Sotkamo’s Vuokatti. The Kuopio WOC will take place from July 7 to 12, 2025.
Initially, the World Orienteering Championships (WOC) featured only two events for both men and women: the classic distance and the relay. In 1991, the event lineup expanded to include the short distance (now the middle distance), and sprint orienteering was added in 2001. In 2014, the mixed sprint relay became part of the WOC program.
At the inaugural WOC, Aimo Tepsell won silver for the men, and Raila Hovi claimed bronze for the women. Finland’s first world championship victory came in 1972 in the women’s relay. In Aviemore, Scotland, in 1976, Liisa Veijalainen (now Peltola) became the first Finn to win an individual world title. Kari Sallinen became the first Finnish man to win a world championship in Australia in 1985. Minna Kauppi is the only Finn to have won multiple world championship gold medals.
Finnish Individual World Champions:
- Liisa Veijalainen, 1976
- Outi Borgenström, 1979
- Kari Sallinen, 1985
- Janne Salmi, 1997
- Kirsi Boström, 1999
- Pasi Ikonen, 2001
- Jani Lakanen, 2006
- Minna Kauppi, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012
- Heli Jukkola, 2007
- Mårten Boström, 2013
Find your country´s WOC history from WOC Medalists and Finnish Rankings (in Finnish)
Who will shine in Kuopio? Will Finland’s flag fly high atop Puijo Tower?
Text: SSL
Video: Raimo Pesonen, Kuopio City
Video usage permission: Yle
Image: Vicente Serra
