The European Orienteering Championships 2022 got well underway Wednesday afternoon, when around 300 athletes started the chase for medals with the Middle distance qualification in the forests around Põlula in Northeastern Estonia.
Both men and women were divided into three qualification heats, where top 20 in each heat qualified for the Middle distance finals on Saturday.
As expected, the vast majority of the favorites managed to qualify for the finals, with Andrine Benjaminsen (NOR), Marika Teini (FIN) and Simona Aebersold (SUI) winning their respective heat in the women’s qualification. Miika Kirmula (FIN), Gustav Bergman (SWE) and Tomas Krivda (CZE) took the wins in the men’s qualification.
Two of the more notable names not qualifying for the finals were Sweden’s Martin Regborn and Karolin Ohlsson. Regborn told the Swedish Orienteering Federation that he skipped a control, whereas Ohlsson lost too much time on the ninth control to make it into top 20.
Dive into maps, GPS and live results from today’s race at IOF LIVE.
The first European Champions of 2022 will be crowned Thursday after the Long Distance. First start is at 9.30 EEST (UTC+3) and the Web-TV can be followed through IOF LIVE from 13.00 – 16.00. Get your ticket for one/all finals for 6/12 EUR.
Photo: IOF / Donatas Lazauskas