Swiss Win at World Orienteering Championships Sprint Relay

It was another excellent day for Switzerland at the World Orienteering Championships (WOC) in Edinburgh as their team of four swept to victory in the Sprint Relay event.

Navigating the campus of Heriot-Watt University and the surrounding suburbs of Riccarton, Natalia Gemperle, Riccardo Rancan, Joey Hadorn, and Simona Aebersold pushed their team from fourth to first place with an overall time of 58:43.3.

Simona Aebersold and Natalia Gemperle previously scored second and third respectively at Friday’s Sprint Final in Edinburgh’s Old Town.

Despite little individual success on Day 1 of WOC 2024, Finland and Norway came in second and third respectively at today’s event. Finland’s team of Maija Sianoja, Miika Kirmula, Tuomas Heikkila, and Venla Harju ran an overall time of 59:22.1, while Norway’s Victoria Haestad Bjornstad, Eirik Langedal Breivik, Kasper Harlem Fosser, and Andrine Benjaminsen completed the race in 59:46.6.

Sweden, meanwhile, failed to qualify due to Tove Alexandersson mispunching a control in the relay’s fourth leg. Alexandersson won the women’s Sprint Final on Friday, setting the record for the most gold medals of any athlete at the WOC. A correct punch would have placed Sweden in second place, behind Switzerland.

Team GB finished in seventh place with a time of 60:16.5, behind Hungary (6^th), France (5^th), Czechia (4^th), and today’s top three.

Eef van Dongen of the Netherlands led the relay’s first leg with a time of 14:47.5. However, Belgium’s Yannick Michiels quickly regained lost ground for his team with the fastest time in the second, before Norway’s Kasper Harlem Fosser led the third and Switzerland’s Simona Aebersold the fourth.

WOC 2024 will conclude with the Knockout Sprints, to be held on Tuesday 16^th. Spectators can view the qualification heats at Canal View Primary, Wester Hailes, at 9:00, while the finals will take place in St. John’s Street from 14:25.

After today’s misstep, Sweden will be looking to come back big—putting Switzerland to the test.