After achieving three heat wins in the morning, Great Britain qualified five of the six athletes for the finals of the Individual Sprint, with the top 15 from each group qualifying for the Final.

GBR Nathan Lawson put in a great performance but unfortunately just missed out on qualification finishing 19th in his group. The Men’s Individual Sprint Final was first up with GBR Ralph Street up first and a solid run put him in a great sport which eventually saw him pick up a podium 6th place.

GBR Kris Jones who started last, due to putting in the fastest heat time was flying through the run and crossed the line in 3rd place. Unfortunately, a mis-punch on the course saw him later disqualified in an event that was won by Kasper Harlem Fosser (NOR) impressively by 16 seconds.

In the women’s event, all three athletes qualified impressively for the final, with both GBR Charlotte Ward and GBR Megan Carter-Davies winning their respective heats.

GBR Alice Leake was the first Brit up, who in 2021 took 4th place in this same event and ran a solid race, which put her in the leader’s chair until right up to the end of the race.  GBR Alice Leake managed to hold on to the Bronze medal seeing her improve one place up from World Orienteering Championships in the Czech Republic.

Both GBR Charlotte Ward and GBR Megan Carter-Davies were one of the last starters in the women’s race and in the rare moment which saw Tove Alexandersson (SWE) under pressure and making a few errors was eventually beaten into 6th place. GBR Megan Carter-Davies ran a clean race which saw her fastest on the checkpoints throughout the race and she held on to take the overall win in 1st place, crowning her World Orienteering Champion!

GBR Megan Carter-Davies said after the race: “I was focusing on taking the right route choices and having an error-free run and I made no real mistake.”

Interview with Gold Medal Winner Megan Carter-Davies 

Reporter:  Katherine Bett
Production:  @OntheRedLine

Interview with GB Alice Leake  

Reporter:  Katherine Bett
Production:  @OntheRedLine

Interview with GB Ralph Street 

Reporter:  Katherine Bett
Production:  @OntheRedLine

.

Sprint Final Results

Women

• Megan Carter Davies GBR 14:22
• Simona Aebersold SUI 14:28
• Alice Leake GBR 14:40
• Andrine Benjaminsen NOR 14:41
• Elena Roos SUI 14:46
• Tove Alexandersson SWE 14:51

Men

• Kasper Harlem Fosser NOR 13:56
• Gustav Bergman SWE 14:12
• Jannick Michiels BEL 14:20
• Håvard Sandstad Eidsmo NOR 14:25
• Aston Key AUS 14:34
• Ralph Street GBR 14:36

This event ended the first Sprint World Championships and made this one of the most successful championships for Great Britain.

With the next Sprint World Orienteering Championship in Edinburgh 2024, there is plenty to look forward to!

Photo credits:  IOF / William Hollowell

Find out more on the World Orienteering Championships 2022 website here.