Sweden’s Gabriella Gustafsson (Photo by IOF)
It was a dominating performance by Finland as they won 5 gold medals, 2 silver and 1 bronze across the 8 races of the World Cup orienteering held in Mora, Sweden over the past 5 days. The next strongest nation was Sweden with 2 gold and 2 silver medals.
The Finnish men were especially dominant, except when it came to the Relay, where a disqualification cost the team dear – depriving Finland of a top position in the Team World Cup, where they finished fourth equal with Sweden. Here Lithuania triumphed, with France second and Switzerland third.
The Team World Cup consisted of three races in 2026 – the Mixed relay in Portugal and the Men’s and Women’s Relays in Sweden. Lithuania finished 2nd in Portugal and took 1st and 6th places in Sweden, a very good all-round performance. France ended 4 points behind with 4th in Portugal and 2nd/4th in Sweden. Switzerland were a further 3 points behind; 8th in Portugal and a creditable two 3rd-placings yesterday.
In the WMTBOC Individual races, special mention should go to Ruska Saarela, Finland who won her third Sprint WMTBOC gold in successive years, and to Sweden’s Gabriella Gustafsson, winning 2 gold and two silver medals on home ground.
The Finnish double of Samuel Pokala and Miika Nurmi taking gold and silver in both Middle and Long was also quite special, especially as Pokala hasn’t competed in this year’s World Cup until these championships. Past multi-medalist Emily Benham Kvåle made a welcome return and ended 7th-equal in the Sprint.
CX80 WMTBOC medals table
Finland: 5 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
Sweden: 2 gold, 2 silver
Lithuania: 1 gold, 1 bronze
Denmark: 1 silver, 2 bronze
Italy: 1 silver, 1 bronze
Switzerland: 3 bronze
Czechia: 1 silver
France: 1 silver
Team World Cup – final 2026 standings
- Lithuania 47 points; 2. France 43; 3. Switzerland 38; 4. Finland and Sweden 31; 6. Czechia 30; 7. Austria finished 7th (they won the Mixed Relay in Portugal, ahead of Lithuania and Italy)
