One of the absolute highlights of the orienteering calendar takes place this weekend at the traditional Jukola relays, which together have over 3000 registered teams.
On IOF TV you will get around 15 hours of live, high-quality broadcast from the forests of Mikkeli in Finland and commentary in both English and Swedish.
We have asked our English commentators, Katherine Bett and Jonas Merz, to share their favorites to grab the victories in this year’s relays below:
2024 Venla start. Photo: Kimmo Hirvonen
Venla – Women’s relay
Saturday from 13:15 – 18:00 (UTC +3)
Katherine Bett:
IFK Göteborg OK (SWE)
Halden SK (NOR)
Kalevan Rasti (FIN)
“The obvious pick is IFK Gothenburg, either of their top two teams. Everything went well for them in Finspång last month, winning Tiomila by over eight minutes. With more focus on Finnish terrain ahead of the World Championships, I expect this club to improve on their result last year. The coaches will be scratching their heads to decide who makes the first team – there are so many international stars to pick from. The smaller team format will suit a lot more teams, including Halden. They’re fielding older and more experienced runners, with some younger up-and-coming athletes. But with the likes of Swiss international Natalia Gemperle in the team, they should be in the running. Athletes from Finland have upped their game this season, with a home WOC. There are lots of home teams to pick from, but I will go for Kalevan Rasti this time. Home-grown talent like Marika Teini and Ida Haapala performed well at the selection races last weekend.”
IFK Göteborg OK’s Victoria Hæstad Bjørnstad during the 2024 Venla. Photo: Jaakko Sorvisto
Jonas Merz:
IFK Göteborg OK (SWE)
Halden SK (NOR)
Kalevan Rasti (FIN)
“I’d disqualify myself as an expert if I would not choose the team finishing first and at Tiomila as the favourites for Venla. With the kind of depth they have, the biggest headache is probably selecting the first team – good problem to have when even the second team could be in the fight for a top 5. In second I see Halden. A strong and balanced team with a great mix of experience, young talent, and plenty of international quality. For third place, I’m going with Kalevan Rasti. They’ve got good names on every leg and the kind of depth that makes them a real podium threat.”
2024 Jukola start. Photo: Kimmo Hirvonen
Jukola – Men’s relay
Saturday from 22:45 – 08:00 (UTC +3)
Katherine Bett:
Stora Tuna OK (SWE)
Helsingin Suunnistajat (FIN)
OK Linné (SWE)
“Jukola teams include seven runners (as opposed to ten in Tiomila), which means more clubs can field a high-quality team. There are lots of clubs in contention.You should always count in Stora Tuna – they won both Jukola and Tiomila in 2024, and were second in Tiomila last month. They’ve very quickly become a team used to being on the podium, bolstered by four Svensk brothers.Helsingin Suunnistajat have a very strong squad of national team runners, including Tuomas Heikkila and Topi Syrjalainen, who won the long distance test race last weekend. They were possibly a bit disappointed with their performance at Tiomila and certainly have the capability to improve. Lots of athletes have spent many weeks in Finland already this year, preparing for the world championships. It could open it up for a very international team like OK Linne, which has a squad of athletes from across Europe. Anything can happen in a relay, and mistakes can catapult teams right down the leaderboard, and open up an opportunity for a team that’s strong, steady and knows how to do their own orienteering.”
Stora Tuna OK’s Henrik Johanneson during the 2024 Jukola in Lakia. Photo: Jaakko Sorvisto
Jonas Merz:
Stora Tuna OK (SWE)
Helsingin Suunnistajat (FIN)
NTNUI (NOR)
“Is there more to say than the fact that Stora Tuna has won Jukola five times in a row? Absolutely – they’re rock solid through the night and know exactly what it takes to win this relay. In second, I’m going with Helsingin Suunnistajat. They delivered a series of strong individual performances at Tiomila, and if everyone’s healthy and in shape, their lineup has what it takes to push for a top position. In third I see NTNUI. They’ve already shown their strength at Tiomila and I expect them to be right in the mix for the victory – though they’ll be battling it out with more than just these three teams.”