Colombia will welcome orienteers from six South American countries this weekend for the biannual South American Orienteering Championships.
Athletes from Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and home nation Colombia have all signed up for the three races that make up SAOC 2024 in senior, junior and youth categories.
The city of Marinilla will host the event centre and the athletes will compete in Sprint, Long and Middle from Saturday to Monday.
Saturday’s sprint takes place in the touristic town of Guatapé with narrow passages and colourful buildings along the waterfront.
The long distance in Santa Elena will test the athletes ability to navigate in dense forest with thick vegetation, before Monday’s middle race is held in far more open terrain with many contour details.
Three of the champions from the previous SAOC held two years ago will try to defend their titles in Colombia. The three Brazilians Cleber Vidal (Long), Priscilla Goncalves (Sprint) and Leandro Nascimento (Sprint) have all entered this year’s championship races.
The winners in the senior categories will gain a regional champion starting spot in World Orienteering Championships 2025 and 2026.
Follow the championships through the SAOC 2024 Homepage and Instagram