Final battle for 2024 World Cup titles in Finland

These forest races count as the fourth round in this years Orienteering World Cup, which has taken us to fast and demanding sprint races in Switzerland and Italy, before moving into the forests for the European Championships in Hungary in August. 

This competition will also give the athletes a taste of what to expect for WOC 2025 as the forests around Eastern Finland will welcome back athletes next July, and a larger GB team will enable opportunities to train and race in this terrain for more athletes. 

The Finnish terrain is relatively flat with no steep slopes or high cliffs and has both areas with many details and some with few details to navigate in.

The World Cup started with the long distance on Thursday where Ralph Street returned from injury to finish top of the British athletes in 17^th  place. In the Womens Megan Carter-Davies 22nd with Grace Molloy in 35th. Joshua Dudley also finished inside the top 40.

After a rest day on Friday, the athletes will return back to the forest for the Middle Distance on Saturday and Relay on Sunday.

Performance Manager Pippa Archer said,  "Today's race was a chance for the athletes to build on their training from the last few days and put their Scandinavian forest skills to the test. It was great to see everyone pouring over maps and discussing route choices in the evening, and we are eager to get back in the forest for more technical challenges at the weekend!"