The 2026 Junior World Orienteering Championships concluded in Karlskrona on Saturday with exciting relay competitions that produced two dramatic races and crowned Sweden as both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s relay world champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the victories came about in very different ways: In the men\u2019s relay, Sweden delivered a consistent performance from start to finish to defend their relay title from last year. Edvin Johansson Liljegren was only two seconds behind the leading Finns (Eero Sorsa) on the opening leg before handing over to Anton Jonsson, who maintained contact with the front throughout the technically demanding course. On the final leg, Ludwig Ros\u00e9n took control of the race and secured victory by 29 seconds ahead of Finland, while Switzerland completed the podium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The race featured extensive forkings and several technically challenging controls that created time losses for many of the leading teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The women\u2019s relay developed into one of the most dramatic races of the championships. After the opening leg, Sweden faced a significant deficit following time losses that left the team almost seven minutes behind the Swiss leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the second leg, Sprint and Long distance champion Freja Hjerne produced one of the fastest performances of the day, reducing the gap by more than six minutes and bringing Sweden back into medal contention before the final changeover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decisive leg remained open until the closing kilometres. Early mistakes cost Sweden additional time, but strong running gradually closed the gap to the leading teams from Czechia and Switzerland. With only a few controls remaining, navigation errors by the front-runners allowed Sweden to move into the lead and secure the world title. Norway claimed the silver medal, while Switzerland finished third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Persson and Olaussen claim middle distance world titles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Friday\u2019s middle distance races at the Junior World Orienteering Championships in Karlskrona delivered a day of high-quality technical orienteering, with Sweden\u2019s Felicia Persson and Norway\u2019s Sondre Olaussen taking the world titles in the women\u2019s and men\u2019s competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The demanding courses in the forests of Blekinge combined intricate navigation with open granite terrain and slower sections of blueberry-covered forest, rewarding athletes who maintained concentration and precision throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the women\u2019s race, Felicia Persson produced the standout performance of the day. Taking the lead early in the course, she continued to extend her lead before securing the world title by 1 minute and 46 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hungary\u2019s Janka Mikes claimed the silver medal after another strong international performance, while Finland\u2019s Anni Jantunen completed the podium with bronze following a closely contested battle for the medals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The men\u2019s competition proved considerably closer. Norway\u2019s Sondre Olaussen delivered a fast and consistent run to claim gold, finishing 22 seconds ahead of Sweden\u2019s Ludwig Ros\u00e9n.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The battle for bronze went down to the final finishers. Sweden\u2019s Edvin Johansson Liljegren secured third place by just three seconds ahead of Hungary\u2019s Mihaly Csoboth, while Denmark\u2019s Mads Christian Maarup was only a further two seconds behind in fifth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 2026 Junior World Orienteering Championships concluded in Karlskrona on Saturday with exciting relay competitions that produced two<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[361],"class_list":["post-14497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-orienteering"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t