List of World Orienteering Championships medalists (men)
This is a list of medalists from the World Orienteering Championships in men's orienteering.[1][2]
Individual/Classic/Long Distance
This event was called "Individual" from 1966 to 1989 and "Classic distance" from 1991 to 2001. Since 2003 it is called "Long distance".
Short/Middle Distance
This event was first held in 1991. The format was changed and renamed "Middle Distance" in 2003 with the introduction of the Sprint discipline.
Sprint
This event was first held in 2001.
Relay
2009 Note: ^ In the 3rd leg Martin Johansson (Sweden) was in the lead when he suffered a serious injury; Thierry Gueorgiou (France), Anders Nordberg (Norway), and Michal Smola (Czech Republic) gave up their lead positions and rescued him. Interpretation of International Orienteering Federation (IOF) competition rules was at issue: rule 26.13 states "The organiser must void a competition if at any point it becomes clear that circumstances have arisen which make the competition unfair or dangerous for the competitors." After much deliberation on whether or not to void the relay, the organizers declared that it stood.[3][4]
Medal table
Table updated after the 2019 Championships.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Norway | 39 | 21 | 27 | 87 |
| 2 |  Sweden | 20 | 21 | 24 | 65 |
| 3 |  Switzerland | 16 | 25 | 20 | 61 |
| 4 |  France | 14 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
| 5 |  Russia (1993–present) | 8 | 7 | 3 | 18 |
| 6 |  Finland | 6 | 22 | 12 | 40 |
| 7 |  Denmark | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 8 |  Great Britain | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 |  Ukraine | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 10 |  Czech Republic (1993–present) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 | Czechoslovakia (1966–91) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 12 |  Latvia | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 13 |  New Zealand | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 |  Hungary | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Italy | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Soviet Union (1966–91) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (16 nations) | 112 | 112 | 113 | 337 | |
Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Country | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thierry Gueorgiou | France | 2003 | 2017 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 23 |
| 2 | Olav Lundanes | Norway | 2010 | 2019 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 17 |
| 3 | Daniel Hubmann | Switzerland | 2005 | 2019 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 28 |
| 4 | Øyvin Thon | Norway | 1979 | 1989 | 7 | 1 | - | 8 |
| 5 | Andrey Khramov | Russia | 2005 | 2015 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| 6 | Petter Thoresen | Norway | 1989 | 1997 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 7 | Valentin Novikov | Russia | 2004 | 2013 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
| 8 | Matthias Kyburz | Switzerland | 2012 | 2018 | 4 | 4 | - | 8 |
| 9 | Bjørnar Valstad | Norway | 1991 | 2004 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 10 | Tore Sagvolden | Norway | 1979 | 1987 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
Best performers by country
- Including mixed events
| Country | Athlete | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | Thierry Gueorgiou | 2003 | 2017 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 23 |
| Norway | Olav Lundanes | 2010 | 2019 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 17 |
| Switzerland | Daniel Hubmann | 2005 | 2019 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 28 |
| Russia | Andrey Khramov | 2005 | 2015 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| Sweden | Rolf Pettersson (by the gold first ranking system) | 1972 | 1979 | 4 | 2 | - | 6 |
| Jörgen Mårtensson (by total number of medals) | 1981 | 1997 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 10 | |
| Denmark | Søren Bobach | 2014 | 2015 | 3 | 1 | - | 4 |
| Finland | Jani Lakanen | 1999 | 2006 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| United Kingdom | Jamie Stevenson | 2003 | 2008 | 2 | - | 2 | 4 |
| Ukraine | Yuri Omeltchenko | 1995 | 2004 | 1 | 2 | - | 3 |
| Latvia | Edgars Bertuks* | 2012 | 2013 | 1 | - | 2 | 3 |
| Czech Republic | Tomáš Dlabaja & Jan Procházka & Jan Šedivý (by the gold first ranking system) | 2012 2012 2012 | 2012 2012 2012 | 1 1 1 | - - - | - - - | 1 1 1 |
| Rudolf Ropek (by total number of medals) | 2001 | 2003 | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Czechoslovakia | Petr Kozak (by the gold first ranking system) | 1991 | 1991 | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Zdenek Lenhart & Jaroslav Kačmarčík (by total number of medals) | 1970 1979 | 1979 1983 | - - | - 1 | 2 1 | 2 2 | |
| New Zealand | Tim Robertson* | 2018 | 2018 | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Hungary | Zoltán Boros & János Sotér & Géza Vajda & András Hegedus | 1972 1972 1972 1972 | 1972 1972 1972 1972 | - - - - | - - - - | 1 1 1 1 | 1 1 1 1 |
| Italy | Mikhail Mamleev* | 2009 | 2009 | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Soviet Union | Sixten Sild* | 1991 | 1991 | - | - | 1 | 1 |
An asterisk (*) marks athletes who are the only representatives of their respective countries to win a medal.
References
- "Results Archive at World of O Runners". runners.worldofo.com. World of O. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- "World Orienteering Championships Medals 1966-2014" (PDF). www.orienteering.org. International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- "WOC2009 Miskolc — Hungary". 2009-08-21. Retrieved 2009-09-07.
- Eddie Bergeron (2009-08-21). "Discussion: WOC relay challenge — just one US taker needed (comment)". Attackpoint. Retrieved 2009-09-07.