The World Orienteering Championships took place 8-12 July in Kuopio, Finland. GB athletes have been preparing for these tough forest races for many months, and their hard work paid off.
Middle Qualification
First up was the Middle Distance qualification, held on the steep ski slopes of Tahko. 5 out of 6 GB athletes qualified for the final the following day, with Ben Mitchell just missing out by the narrowest of margins. Ben ran a solid race on his WOC debut, finishing a very creditable 17th in a stacked heat (15 to qualify) that contained the eventual gold and silver medallists.
The athletes that qualified for the Middle Final were: Grace Molloy, Megan Mitchell, Jo Shepherd, Alastair Thomas and Simon Harden.
Images: Grace Molloy, Megan Mitchell and Jo Shepherd in today's Middle Qualification race. Further below, Ben Mitchell, Alastair Thomas and Simon Harden. Credits: Rob Lines.
Middle Final
The Middle final the next day was held in a tough forest that challenged both mental and physical strength. GB’s top performance came from Grace Molloy in 18th, her winter of training in Sweden paying dividends in terms of both terrain strength and navigational skill. Megan Mitchell was a minute behind in 25th, with Jo Shepherd in 32nd. In the men’s race, Simon Harden, on his WOC debut, was the first GB athlete home in 25th, with Alastair Thomas backing up his excellent qualification race to run a solid final, finishing 37th.
GB athletes finished as follows:
Women | Men |
| Grace Molloy (18th) | Simon Harden (17th) |
| Megan Mitchell (25th) | Alastair Thomas (37th) |
| Jo Shepherd (32nd) |
Images: Grace Molloy, Simon Harden and Megan Mitchell. Credits: Rob Lines.
Long
There was no rest for some athletes with the Long Distance the next day.
Widely-spaced controls required athletes to weigh up the relative merits of a shorter route through leg-sapping terrain or a longer route round the path network before heading into the forest to locate hidden boulders and subtle contour features.
Hot weather added to the challenge, with Luke Fisher pushing himself to the limit to claim a fantastic 28th place in the men’s race on his WOC debut. Joshua Dudley ran a clean race, finishing less than 30 seconds back, in 32nd place. Top GB performer was once again Grace Molloy, who stepped it up from the day before to take a fantastic 14th place. A solid day for team GB was rounded out with Jo Shepherd in 27th and Alison Smithard in 46th.
Relay
The relay on the final day provided exciting head-to-head racing, with many top athletes succumbing to the pressure on tricky, hilly courses. GB women raced hard but just missed out on a top-6 spot, finishing 7th, less than a minute behind Denmark.
GB men also fought hard to the end, with Simon Harden holding his nerve to nail the last tricky control and bring the team into a well-deserved 10th spot.
For many of the senior athletes, WOC25 marks the end of a tough season of racing in the forest.
Athletes will head home for some well-deserved rest, but there is plenty of racing still to come this summer.
The European Youth Orienteering Championships kick off in Czechia at the end of this week, providing an opportunity for many of our juniors to pull on a GB top for the first time. This is swiftly followed by the World Games in mid-August and the European Championships at the end of August, where our senior sprint specialists will be pulling on their road shoes and tackling the challenge of fast running and even faster decision-making in China and Belgium.
Good luck to all GB athletes racing this summer!
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