Euan Tryner finishes in the middle distance race, 28th September 2024, photo: IOForienteering
The Final Round of the 2024 World Cup took place in Finland last week. There were two individual races: a long on Thursday 26th and a middle on Saturday 28th, and forest relays on Sunday 29th.
In the previous round, the first forest races of this year's World Cup, the European Orienteering Championships in Hungary, it was very hot (over 30) and tough. And the courses were on the long side. This round, running conditions were pleasant and the courses which had allowed for much worse conditions were won in times under the targets. The TV broadcast had time to fill!
The big names were all present finalising the top individual World Cup positions. The big teams were there in strength finalising the Team World Cup. For other countries it was a mixture, for example there was no Hungarian team in the women's relay (they had been sixth nation at the European champs.)
A big consideration for most runners is that next year's World Champs are in the same area, so they were keen to learn and impress.
There were many changes from Hungary in the 17 athlete GBR team.
Congratulations to Euan Tryner, Simon Harden, Matthew Gooch and Eilidh Campbell on their senior debuts.
Euan is a final year junior with top 20s in the forest races at this year's Junior World Champs (JWOC).
Simon is a top runner with IKHP Huskvarna. He anchored his club to 37th in this year's TioMila.
Matthew is an Edinburgh University athlete who ran JWOC in Portugal 2022 coming 21st in the middle distance. He was 4th in this year's British Nights. His long race in Finland was his highest ever World Ranking score.
Eilidh Campbell is also an Edinburgh University athlete. Her later junior years were disrupted by COVID, after she ran JWOC in 2019. She was 5th in the British (Long) in 2023 and 2024. Her best overseas World Ranking Score is from this year's World Universities Middle Race.
Megan Carter-Davies, Rachel Brown, Laura King, Niamh Hunter, Hector Haines, Ralph Street, and Joshua Dudley joined the team.
All three of these runners were in Finland for this World Cup Round. Eilidh Campbell (right) and Niamh Hunter (centre) accompany their Edinburgh University teammate Fiona Bunn (left) on the run-in to win the British Relays March 2023, photo:Rob Lines.
Simon Harden at this year's JK
The Races Overall
World of O - World Cup Final - Results, Maps and Analysis
World Cup Final at IOF Eventor
Women's World Cup
Simona Aebersold came second in both individual races in Finland, having come first or second in the previous five World Cup races this year. She thus won the World Cup. Tove Alexandersson, who won both races, was second in the World Cup. Simona's overall win this year ended a long winning streak for Tove, who was generous in her praise for Simona. There were three sprint races in World Cup Rounds 1 and 2 in late May / early June and Tove did not score so highly in two of them. Meanwhile she was going great in the forest helping her club Stora Tuna to the double double in TioMila and Jukola. Had Tove rather than Simona won the European Champs Middle Distance Race in Hungary - a great race by Simona - the overall outcome could well have been different.
Natalia Gemperle was third. Andrine Benjaminsen, Hanna Lundberg and Venla Harju were fourth, fifth and sixth, all three scoring in all races.
The highest placed British runner is Grace Molloy, who scored points (for the top-40 runners) in six of the seven races. Megan Carter-Davies, Rachel Brown, Cecilie Andersen, Fiona Bunn and Charlotte Ward also scored points this year.
Men's World Cup
Kasper Fosser won the World Cup with an eventual margin of nearly 100 points (the value of a win) from Martin Regborn. Kasper was fourth and second in the races in Finland.
The long race was won by Miika Kirmula, the middle by Eirik Langedal Breivik. They came sixth and third respectively in the World Cup. Fourth was Emil Svensk, and fifth was Daniel Hubmann.
The specialisation of some of the men is evident scanning down the final table. Albin Ridefelt is 10th, with no sprint races. Tuomas Heikkila is 11th with no forest races.
The highest placed GBR runner is Ralph Street, who scored in four races. Nathan Lawson, Peter Hodkinson, Jonathan Crickmore and Joshua Dudley also scored points this year.,
Team World Cup
Scores mount during all the World Cup races for a table that puts countries in order. It is the relays that matter most: for GBR 1300 of the 1609 points scored come from relays. The Sprint Relay in Genoa was not counted (because of the map leak) which meant the forest relays at the European Champs and in Finland were the really significant races.
Both the races in Finland finished with Sweden wins, ahead of Norway and Finland. Had the Norwegian men won a very close race then Norway would have taken the overall Team World Cup, but as it was Sweden won with Norway second.
As you know countries enter multiple teams and the first finishing is the one that counts overall. It was Sweden 2 in fact that won, Sweden 1 having led after legs 1 and 2. The GB men 1st team (Simon Harden, Ralph Street, Joshua Dudley) were 14th team to finish. The GB women (Jo Shepherd, Grace Molloy, Megan Carter-Davies) were 17th to finish. Great Britain were eighth nation in both relays.
Both GB teams were in higher positions than at the recent European Championships, 8th for the women vs 9th at the Europeans, 8th for the men vs 14th at the Europeans.
Britain finished 8th in the overall World Cup, as last year. The change from last year was Norway were seond and Switzerland third, rather than the other way round. Finland were again fourth, Czechia fifth, France sixth and Denmark seventh.
Longer Perspective
Since COVID there have now been eight forest relay days at World Champs or World Cups. World Cups in 2021 (Czechia) and 2023 (Switzerland),European Champs in 2022 (Estonia) and 2024 (Hungary), and World Cups in 2021 (Sweden), 2022 (Switzerland), 2023 (Norway) and now 2024 (Finland).
In all except the World Champs relays nations can enter multiple teams, and the big nations often place two or three teams ahead of GB teams.
Counting just the "nation" position, i.e after teams placed lower than the first finishing for that country have been deemed non-comp, this is the summary, of GB positions, women first.
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WOC21 (Czechia): 7th / 15th; (a "neutral" team of Russian athletes was ahead of the GB women)
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WC21 Rd 2 (Sweden): 10th / 13th; (Russian teams were ahead of both GB teams)
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EOC22 (Estonia): 10th / 18th;
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WCup Final 22 (Switzerland): 12th / 12th;
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WC23 Rd 1 (Norway): 12th / 9th;
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WOC23 (Switzerland): 8th / 17th;
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EOC24 (Hungary): 9th / 14th;
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WCup Final 24 (Finland): 8th / 8th.
The 14th position amongst all teams of the GB men in Finland was therefore their highest placing since COVID. It was Nordic terrain and the team all live in Nordic countries.