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

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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.

Clubs:   
“Currently South Yorkshire Orienteers and OK Ravinen if I go to Jukola or Tiomila. I grew up as a member of Southdowns Orienteers and have also been in both Sheffield University Orienteering Club and Edinburgh University Orienteering Club.” 

Coach: 
“Myself with the help of books, the internet, and conversations with others.” 

Training Routine:   
“Ideally a lot, especially during Winter. Preference for training early in the morning, I currently try to do the main training of the day before starting work at 8/8:30 (working from home helps here) then I don't have so much to do later. Though I do enjoy some company on sessions, so I have to do these later.” 

Race Routine/habits: 
“Nothing unique, just whatever gets me to the start line on time, ready to race. I do enjoy a shakeout run a few hours before though especially as warmups in quarantine can sometimes be challenging.” Favourite terrain: 
“British housing estates. My orienteering was made for them. I really enjoyed the British Sprints at Skelmersdale in 2021. Otherwise, I'm a big fan of forest terrains that are runnable but also technical, for example the sandstone stuff in Czech.”  

Favourite food: 
“Brown rice, ideally with something spicy on top.” 

Other hobbies:   
“Pretty much any other sport or spectating sport. Anything competitive, relatively cheap, and outdoors then Laura and I are interested. I also enjoy cooking, not baking, as I am too lazy to follow recipes and like just winging it.” 

Inspirations: 
“Not really been one for idols. Just really enjoy seeing people pull out some epic performances, especially friends and teammates.” 

What advice would you give a younger version of yourself? 
“I think my orienteering career peaked when I was 10-16 years old so realistically the younger version of myself needs to give my 29-year-old self some tips.”  

British Orienteering wishes you all the very best with your final preparations.

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Ahead of the World Orienteering Championships 2022 in Denmark, British Orienteering is posting interviews of the GB athletes selected to compete so that all members can get to know the GB team. Please keep an eye out for these interviews which will be posted on the British Orienteering website this week, and follow all the action live here throughout the World Orienteering Championships which start with the Sprint Relay on Sunday 26 June!

Good Luck to the British Team