Regborn & Alexandersson Win WOC Sprints

Following on from the morning’s heats, the good weather and even greater excitement held for today’s Sprint Final at the World Orienteering Championships 2024 in Edinburgh.

90 contenders from around the world faced a complicated course traversing major Edinburgh landmarks, including the Royal Mile, George Heriot’s School, and the Cowgate, the start line at the University of Edinburgh’s Old College. The closes and wynds of Edinburgh’s Old Town meant over 85m of ascent for athletes in the form of steep stone stairs. Event commentators reminded the crowd that racing through the medieval city is about more than speed—it takes exceptional navigation.

Big crowds gathered in the sunshine at Ross Pavilion, Princes Street Gardens, to witness the men’s and women’s races on a jumbo screen, with live commentary from WOC officials. VisitScotland’s Director of Events Paul Bush appeared on stage to formally open the event, thanking volunteers and organisers and saying that Edinburgh “will never have seen anything like this before”.

Just half an hour before the race, I spotted Team GB athlete Mairi Eades, who’d showed me the ropes of urban orienteering in a try-out event, crossing the finish line as a pre-runner. Following the men’s start at 15:12 and women’s at 16:29, athletes stormed past the finish line at the foot of the bandstand to cheers, bells, and whistles.

Sweden and Switzerland were the big winners at today’s event. Following his victory in this morning’s heat, Sweden’s Victor Regborn (15:58) came first in the men’s race with a comfortable lead of 23 seconds. Tino Polsini of Switzerland came in second (16:21), followed by Swedes Emil Svensk (16:25) and Gustav Bergman (16:27). However, newcomer Francesco Mariani of Italy was the biggest surprise, coming in fifth with a time of 16:40. Just one second behind Mariani and representing New Zealand, Tim Robertson rounded out the men’s podium. WOC 2022’s previous Sprint winner, Kasper Harlem Fosser, was nowhere to be seen, coming in 17^th in a disaster for the Norwegian men’s team.

It’s perhaps no surprise to those familiar with sprint orienteering that Sweden’s legendary Tove Alexandersson (16:14), pictured, came first in the women’s event, setting a new record for the most gold medals won by a female athlete, surpassing previous record holder Simone Niggli-Luder. In second and third were Simona Aebersold (16:29)—repeating her success at WOC 2022—and Natalia Gemperle (16:33) of Switzerland, followed by Poland’s Aleksandra Hornik (16:38) and Denmark’s Malin Agervig Kristiansson (16:56). However, the biggest cheers went to Grace Molloy of Team GB (17:00), the only athlete competing on home soil to earn a place on today’s podium. Previous champion and Team GB athlete Megan Carter Davies earned a very respectable ninth place, also to loud applause, following her injuries earlier in the season.

A medal ceremony took place at 18:00 to resounding applause throughout Princes Street Gardens. As one of the most technically complex race days to pull off, with over 200 marshals and several road closures, it’s safe to say day one of WOC 2024 was a major success for athletes and organisers.

Next up in the champs will be the Sprint Relay on Sunday 14^th, held at Heriot-Watt’s Riccarton Campus. For more information on how to get there, visit woc2024.org.