It has been a long time coming, but Sunday afternoon it’s finally happening: The first sprint-only World Orienteering Championships kick off in Denmark.
The championships in Denmark’s Triangle Region originally were to be held in 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And this Sunday – nearly six years after Denmark was awarded the championships in August 2016, the world’s best orienteers will compete in Sprint Relay in the streets of Kolding.
The Sprint Relay is followed by Tuesdays Knock-Out Sprint, which debuts on the WOC-program, before the Sprint in Vejle completes the championships on Thursday, June 30.
243 athletes from 42 different nations have registered for WOC. Sweden poses with the largest team of 14 athletes, while Argentina, Cyprus and the Netherlands all have one athlete to cheer for during the races.
Sweden won all three sprint gold medals at last year’s WOC in Czech Republic, with Tove Alexandersson and Isac von Krusenstierna winning the individual sprint and the Swedish team with Tove Alexandersson, Emil Svensk, Gustav Bergman and Sara Hagström finishing first in the Sprint Relay.
If you can’t join the party at the arenas in Kolding, Fredericia and Vejle – all three competitions can be followed on IOF LIVE.
Furthermore, the World Orienteering Championships will be broadcasted in Denmark (TV2 Sport), Sweden (SVT), Norway (NRK), Switzerland (SSR SRG), Finland (YLE), Czech Republic (CZ-TV), Austria (ORF), France (TV 8 Mont Blanc).
Program – all times CEST (UTC +2)
Sunday, June 26
17.30: Sprint Relay starts
Tuesday, June 28
9:30: KO Sprint, Qualification
16.00: KO Sprint, First quarter final starts
17.45: KO Sprint, First semifinal starts
19.02: KO Sprint, Final M starts
19.22: KO Sprint, Final W starts
Thursday, June 30
9:30 Sprint, Qualification
17:50 Sprint, Finals first start